BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (February 18, 2026) — The Simon Wiesenthal Center is raising serious concerns over
renewed efforts in Chile to use the country’s judicial system to target Israeli citizens and dual Chilean-Israeli nationals under the banner of “universal jurisdiction.”
Universal jurisdiction was established to prosecute the architects of genocide and crimes against humanity. It was never intended to become a political instrument aimed at individuals who fulfilled mandatory military service without decision-making authority over state policy, particularly in the context of the war that began following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre.
This is not an isolated development. In recent years, activist groups in Chile have advanced initiatives targeting Chilean citizens who completed military service in Israel, including calls for the revocation of citizenship. If such tactics proceed, courts risk becoming arenas for ideological campaigns rather than institutions dedicated to impartial
justice.
At the center of the current effort is the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), which has filed a complaint before Chilean courts against an Israeli soldier visiting the country as a tourist. HRF presents itself as a Belgium-based human rights organization. However, the leadership’s public record raises serious questions.
HRF leader Dyab Abou Jahjah has acknowledged receiving training from Hezbollah and has publicly expressed support for Hamas, including justification of the October 7 attacks. His record also includes Holocaust denial, advocacy for the imposition of sharia law in Europe, and hostility toward LGBTQ rights.
The organization has further promoted a troubling historical distortion, comparing the death of a Palestinian girl in the conflict to Anne Frank and equating Israeli soldiers with the Nazi regime that systematically exterminated six million Jews.
Dr. Ariel Gelblung, Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Latin America, stated:
“The distortion of the memory of Anne Frank and of Simon Wiesenthal, who devoted his life to bringing Nazi criminals to justice, against the defensive actions of the State of Israel is deeply perverse. It trivializes the Shoah and equates the descendants of Holocaust victims with their persecutors. This inversion is precisely what the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism identifies as a contemporary manifestation of antisemitism.”
The Center emphasized that universal jurisdiction must remain a safeguard against impunity for mass atrocities, not a mechanism for selective prosecution based on nationality.
Dr. Darío Pendzik, Assistant Director of the Center’s Latin American office, added:
“The Chilean judicial system must not become an instrument of international ideological campaigns. Defending international law
means protecting it from political manipulation. When legal mechanisms are weaponized for selective targeting, the integrity of
justice itself is at risk.”
The Simon Wiesenthal Center reaffirmed its commitment to defending the historical truth of the Holocaust, combating antisemitism in all its contemporary forms, and ensuring that international legal principles are not distorted in ways that undermine justice or erode the rule of law.
For further information, please email Ariel Gelblung, SWC’s Director of Latin America, at agelblung@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your X feed.
About the Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a global Jewish human rights organization that combats antisemitism, defends the State of Israel, and uses the lessons of the Holocaust to teach tolerance and combat hate. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO). Headquartered in Los Angeles, the SWC operates in key centers of Jewish life including New York, Chicago, Florida, Toronto, Jerusalem, Vienna and Buenos Aires. To learn more, visit www.wiesenthal.org.