SWC Condemns Colombian Foreign Ministry's Anti-Israel Conference

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has denounced an international conference organized by the Colombian Foreign Ministry and slated forJuly 14-16 in Bogotá for its demonization of Israel and its perpetuation of the canard that Israel is committing “genocide.” According to the Colombian Foreign Ministry, the conference isdesigned “to move from discourse to action" against "genocide, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, extending to the rest of the Palestinian territories under occupation."

Colombia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir, announced the conference, which will assemble representatives fromSouth Africa, Bolivia, Namibia, Honduras, Cuba, Senegal, and Malaysia. Jaramillo Jassir has accused Israel of international crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, and has made accusations againstIsrael that even go beyond claims made by the Palestinian Authority.

Dr. Dario Pendzik, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Assistant Director for Latin America, said “President Petro of Colombia ispromoting a foreign policy not based on justice or facts but on his own ideological bias. He is not simply criticizing the policies of a specific Israeli government, but promoting hatredagainst the very existence of the State of Israel.”

Dr. Ariel Gelblung, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Latin American Director, added, “This so-called ‘conference’ makes no mentionof Hamas’s attacks of October 7 and includes notorious anti-Zionists as well as the rapper Bob Vylan, who recently called for ‘death to the Israeli Defense Forces’ at the Glastonbury Festival.This is not a conference; it’s an antisemitic hate-fest.” The conference will also be attended by Jeremy Corbyn of the British Labor Party, as well as Francesca Albanese who the USgovernment recently sanctioned on account of her antisemitism and persistent demonization of Israel.

For further information, please email Ariel Gelblung, Director of Simon Wiesenthal Center LatinAmerica agelblung@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updatessent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization. It holds consultative status atthe United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).