Saturday, October 25, 2025

Could Trump's Dealings With Venezuela Affect Israel?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                 

     As you can see, Columbia is Venezuela's neighbor that matters

The Trump administration is barely bothering to pretend that its increasingly belligerent stance toward Venezuela is just about tackling narcotics. President Donald Trump wants Nicolas Maduro out of power — and the only question is how much pressure the United States is prepared to deliver to make it so.  What's the story behind Venezuela and Israel?  Isn't everything blamed on Israel these days?  You know, the domino affect.....I look at it this way, how a country treats the Jewish people says something about how they will treat all people sooner rather than later.  See if I'm right.  

Sephardim Jews were the first Jews in Venezuela, arriving in  about 1850.There were anti-Semitic outbreaks at Coro in 1855 and 1902. Ever since 1492 during the Spanish Inquisition in Spain, Jews had been searching for lands to accept Jewish people.  The Pope was most powerful then and Jews were not allowed in most places.  

This was not yet 1880 when Jews were suffering from pogroms of Eastern Europe which caused the Aliyote of returning to Israel (then Palestine).  This settling in Venezuela started in 1850's and you know that their life was being made hell somewhere to pick up and go off to Venezuela, a country by 1811.  In 1850, Venezuela was at the beginning of a period of dictatorial rule under the Monagas brothers, following a period of political instability that had started after its secession from Gran Colombia in 1830. While the Liberal Party, which was in power, introduced some social reforms like abolishing slavery and extending suffrage, these laws were largely not implemented, and political and economic corruption was widespread. The nation's credit was poor, and the economy was stagnating.  

In the 20th century, Eastern European and German Jews entered the country until barred after WWII.   They played a leading role in developing the country's trade  and in modernizing the capital, Caracas.  

Jewish population in 1990 was 20,000, mostly in Caracas.  Some 90% of Jewish youth attend Jewish schools.  Venezuela's Jewish population is estimated to be around 6,000 people, based on data from around 2020 and 2021. While some sources provide a slightly different figure, such as 4,500, the number is significantly lower than it was in the past. The Jewish community has shrunk considerably due to emigration, with a peak population of about 25,000 in the 1990s. 

                      Hugo Chavez-big anti-Semite:  Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías:( 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) died at age 58, was a Venezuelan politician, revolutionary, and military officer who was the president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period of forty-seven hours in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which he led until 2012.

The relationship between Venezuela and Jews has evolved from being a refuge for Jewish refugees to a situation where political tensions and economic instability have led to significant Jewish emigration to places like Israel

Among destinations for the 15–16,000 Jews leaving Venezuela, the prime destination was the United States, particularly Miami, and the rest went to Israel. With the Crisis in Venezuela in the 2010s, Jewish emigration rapidly increased. This time emigrating Venezuelan Jews primarily went to Israel, as the devaluation of their property and other assets effectively closed off the options such as the United States or Panama.

While Venezuela has a history of supporting Israel, recent years have seen increasing antisemitic rhetoric from the government, particularly under the regimes of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, as they aligned with groups and nations critical of Israel. The Jewish community in Venezuela is now small and tight-knit, with many members choosing to leave due to ongoing instability and antisemitism. 

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans during the 2007 Venezuelan protests demonstrating against Chávez's proposed constitutional referendum.  On his way to really being an anti-Semite !  

Based on reports from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the U.S. Department of State, the Venezuelan government under President Hugo Chávez demonstrated significant anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions in 2010. The government's state-run media, as well as rallies and demonstrations, used anti-Israel and anti-Zionist sentiments as a pretext for anti-Semitic canards and imagery. 2010 was known as the Bolivarian Revolution.  

During an address on Chávez's birthday in 2011, he called on the middle classes and the private sector to get more involved in his Bolivarian Revolution, something he saw as "vital" to its success.

In August of 2011, Chávez announced that his government would nationalize Venezuela's gold industry, taking it over from Russian-controlled company Rusoro, while at the same time also moving the country's gold stocks, which were largely stored in western banks, to banks in allied countries such as Russia, China and Brazil.

To ensure that his Bolivarian Revolution became socially ingrained in Venezuela, Chávez discussed his wish to stand for re-election when his term ran out in 2013, and spoke of ruling beyond 2030.  Hugo Chávez died from a massive heart attack following a long battle with an undisclosed form of cancer. He died in 2013 at the age of 58, after undergoing multiple rounds of treatment and surgery in Cuba and Venezuela.  

Nicolás Maduro Moros (born 23 November 1962) age 63, is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader who has been serving as the president of Venezuela since 2013. A member of the United Socialist Party (PSUV), he previously served as the 24th vice president under President Hugo Chávez from 2012 to 2013 and was also the minister of foreign affairs from 2006 to 2012.  Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade union leader before being elected to the National Assembly in 2000. 

When interviewed by a female, Christiane Amanpour, he seemed very dense when asked about being a Democratic President.  He didn't know what that was, and thought that being elected was enough.  Christiane Amanpour has interviewed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at least twice, most notably in a March 2014 interview. She has also interviewed opposition leader Juan Guaidó in January 2019, during the political crisis. I might add that Nicolás Maduro's education is limited; he did not graduate from high school and has no university degree. Instead of formal higher education, he pursued political training in Cuba and became a labor union leader, working as a bus driver in Caracas. He received political and union organizing training at a Communist youth school in Havana. 

 Due to the death of Chávez, Vice President Nicolás Maduro took over the presidential powers and duties for the remainder of Chávez's abbreviated term until presidential elections were held. Venezuela's constitution specifies that the speaker of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, should assume the interim presidency if a president cannot be sworn in. Maduro remains in power as president as of 2025.

The Trump administration launched a major military and diplomatic escalation in its new war on drugs, sending an aircraft carrier to Latin America and sanctioning Colombia's president. It comes as the U.S. has increasingly targeted political leaders it opposes across the region, and as the military has launched an unprecedented number of deadly strikes in the Caribbean. Nick Schifrin reports.  The Trump administration launched a major military and diplomatic escalation in its new war on drugs, sending an aircraft carrier to Latin America and sanctioning Colombia's president. (What does this mean?  Certain crimes perpetrated by businesses, groups, and individuals can pose grave risks for countries—and by extension, businesses. To deter culprits from this behavior and promote compliance with global laws, sanctions are imposed to restrict resource flow to the bad actors.

 It comes as the U.S. has increasingly targeted political leaders it opposes across the region, and as the military has launched an unprecedented number of deadly strikes in the Caribbean. Nick Schifrin reports.

There have been successive U.S. strikes against alleged drug trafficking boats in the international waters off Venezuela, a buildup of military assets in the Caribbean and even an admission from Trump that he had authorized covert CIA action on the ground in Venezuela. Still, Trump claims he’s not pursuing “regime change.”

It's interesting to note that In the 16th century (1500's)  when Spanish colonization began in Venezuelan territory, the population of several indigenous peoples such as the Mariches (descendants of the Caribes) declined. Native caciques (leaders) such as Guaicaipuro (c. 1530–1568) and Tamanaco (died 1573) attempted to resist Spanish incursions, but the newcomers ultimately subdued them. The founder of CaracasDiego de Losada, ultimately put Tamanaco to death.

  • While Columbus's voyages opened the door for European exploration of the Americas starting in 1492, his initial belief was that he had reached the East Indies. He did not reach the mainland of South America until his fifth voyage in 1502. Columbus has recently been found to have had a Jewish connection by 
  • a DNA test.  I know that the "Jewish Digest: of long ago, like the Readers'
  • Digest, had an article telling of his letters to his son in Hebrew.  He was
  • on the expedition but in the name of the Pope-a Catholic reason; and
  • his ship had some Jews leaving Spain working in it.The deal was that what
  • people they found were to be converted.  They did not know of Columbus's
  • Jewish heritage. This had to be kept a secret. 

  •  He was not alone.  
    The discovery of the South American continent is credited to both the Portuguese expedition led by Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 and the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who explored the coast in 1501 and realized it was a "New World," not part of Asia. Indigenous peoples already inhabited the continent for thousands of years before any European arrival. 


Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://www.adl.org/#:~:text=New%20York%2C%20NY%2C%20June%2016%2C%202010%20%E2%80%A6,to%20be%20used%20as%20a%20political%20tool.%22.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Ch%C3%A1vez

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicol%C3%A1s_Maduro

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicol%C3%A1s_Maduro#:~:text=Education%20and%20union%20work%20Maduro%20attended%20a,Maduro%20did%20not%20graduate%20from%20high%20school.



Friday, October 24, 2025

Israel With Trump's Vision of Peace in Middle East

 Nadene Goldfoot

                                             

Kiryat Gat (Hebrewקריית גתlit.'City of Gat') It lies 56 km (35 miles) south of Tel Aviv, 43 km (27 mi) north of Beersheba, and 68 km (42 mi) west southwest of Jerusalem. In 2023 it had a population of 69,762. The city hosts one of the most advanced semiconductor fabrication plants in the world, Intel's Fab 28 plant producing 7 nm process chips. Portlanders might be interested that this comes close to cities in Oregon of Medford that has a population of about 85,000, while Albany has around 56,000. The population of other cities like Corvallis and Eugene are significantly higher.                         

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the U.S.-led command center in Kiryat Gat, which is responsible for monitoring the ongoing ceasefire, facilitating humanitarian aid and laying groundwork for a future stabilization force in Gaza. 

He reiterated that no state will allow the involvement of Hamas in managing Gaza’s future security. 

Rubio said that an international security force created to stabilize Gaza will only include troops from countries that Israel is comfortable with. 


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for sanctions and an arms embargo to be imposed on Israel, accusing it of violating the ceasefire in Gaza. [which is why Israel isn't "comfortable" with Turkish troops joining the international force.]

All but one of the hostages were among the 251 people abducted during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 other people were killed.

Israel is awaiting the return of the bodies of 2 more hostages this weekend.  All the living hostages have been returned. 


Hamas has been severely degraded and the IDF still controls around half of Gaza, which serves as a security buffer along the Israeli border.

Hamas terrorists still seem to be in firm control of their part of Gaza, which includes the overwhelming majority of the Strip's population, and Hamas isn't disarming, as they are meant to do per the ceasefire agreement.

 The fact that they lost thousands of fighters and caused the deaths of thousands of civilians and the destruction of most of Gaza doesn't trouble them.

 Remember, they are a Jihadist organization whose mission is to destroy Israel at all costs. 

          Sinwar holding toddler 

Sinwar and the Hamas leadership knew very well the death and destruction that would occur as a result of their barbaric Oct. 7 attack -- the IDF captured the files and documents that prove that -- and yet they felt that it was well worth it if it could fulfill their Jihad.

 The late Egyptian President Ansar Sadat reportedly said, before the Yom Kippur War of 1973, that he was willing to sacrifice one million lives to destroy Israel. 

  

Hamas was more than willing to sacrifice 30 or 40 thousand. 


The Arab countries  won. Israel removed their biggest threat, Iran, and they are now closer than ever to the U.S. and will undoubtedly getting lots of great gifts in exchange for their support of Trump's peace deal, in addition to their growing influence in Washington.  

    Turkey and Qatar: Each finds Israel as their enemy having Qatar supporting Qaradawi for ages and Turkey with grandeur ideas of the Ottoman Empire as one of their rulers.  

For the time being, it doesn't look like Hamas is exiting the plot of our story, and it seems to still have the support of Turkey and Qatar. 

Even some Jewish groups have swallowed the line told against Israel without any checking.  

The tens of millions of university students and liberal revolutionaries demonstrating their support for Hamas  have been growing and nurturing for decades.  

The Muslim countries in the Middle East include Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and YemenA map showing the Middle East will display these nations, often alongside non-Muslim majority countries like Israel. Trump has helped leading the Arab States to join the Abraham Accords, of which The countries that belong to the Abraham Accords are Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and MoroccoSudan also signed the general declaration, but its full bilateral agreement has been delayed due to political instability. 

  • Israel: The primary country normalizing relations with Arab nations.
  • United Arab Emirates (UAE): Signed the agreement in 2020.
  • Bahrain: Signed the agreement in 2020.
  • Morocco: Joined the Accords in December 2020.
  • Sudan: Signed the general declaration in January 2021, but has not yet completed its bilateral agreement.
As of late 2025, five Muslim-majority nations have formal peace treaties or normalization agreements with Israel. The first two agreements were comprehensive peace treaties, while the three most recent ones are normalization agreements signed under the Abraham Accords.                           

 
  • Egypt (1979): The Egypt-Israel peace treaty was a landmark agreement following the Camp David Accords. In exchange for peace, Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. While the peace has been described as "cold," full diplomatic relations were established and have held.                               

  • Jordan (1994): The treaty between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan officially ended the state of war that had existed since 1948. The agreement settled border and water disputes, established diplomatic relations, and included cooperation on trade and tourism. 

At the end of the day, Israel is still surrounded by countries and populations who would rather it not exist, and the moment they can make that a reality, they will.

 Hezbollah is still around in the north and Hamas is looking like it'll be sticking around in the south. Israel killed at least a dozen senior Hamas military and political officials during the first year of the Gaza war.  Its most daring operations killed Haniyeh in Tehran and Mohammed Deif, the chief Hamas military commander, in Gaza, both in July 2024. In January, Mossad chief David Barnea vowed that Israel was “committed to settling accounts” with everyone involved—“directly or indirectly,” including “planners and envoys”—in the Hamas invasion of Gaza. “It’ll take time, as it took time after the Munich massacre, but we will put our hands on them wherever they are,” he said, referring to the murder of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics.

Iran might be defanged for the moment, but they'll bide their time and wait for a more "favorable" U.S. administration, and then pick up where they left off. 

 Israel is still at war with its neighbors that produce terrorists  and much of the world. Maybe Trump can pull off his vision of peace in the Middle East? We can hope and pray. But what happens when he isn't president anymore? Is peace only PIE IN THE SKY?? More prayer...]


Resource:

israelAM

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

We Argued With G-d

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                 

                    Abraham and Lot, his nephew
      Remember the story of Lot's wife being turned into a pillar of salt?  The story of Lot’s wife being turned into a pillar of salt is found in the Old Testament book of Genesis, specifically in Genesis 19. To understand why this happened, we need to explore the context of the events leading up to this incident, the significance of salt in biblical symbolism, and the lessons that can be drawn from this narrative.  

  • The victorious coalition of four kings from the East captured Lot and looted the city of Sodom, where Lot lived. The four kings were Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim.

Abraham (b: c.1948 BCE)  had a brother, Haran and Lot was his son.  He went with Abraham from Aram-Naharaim to Canaan.  While on the trek, their shepherds argued with each other over pasture land, and they all separated.  Lot settled in Sodom (you know, Sodom and Gemmora?) He was captured by 5 kings but was rescued by Abraham. The defeated coalition of five kings included the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, who had previously rebelled against Chedorlaomer. 

Lot had his escape from Sodom, and was warned not to look back.  Lot's wife did, anyway, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.  

  • Abraham arguing for Sodom: In the Book of Genesis, Abraham directly challenges God's plan to destroy the city of Sodom. He bargains with God, asking if he would spare the city for the sake of 50, then 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, and finally 10 righteous people.
The bargaining between God and Abraham for Sodom is found in Genesis 18:16-33. It was Abraham, not Lot, who pleaded with God, arguing that the city should not be destroyed if there were righteous people within it. The dialogue starts with Abraham asking if God will spare the city for 50 righteous people and, through his bargaining, reduces the number to 10, which is the final number mentioned in the negotiation.  . 
  • The conduct of the people of Sodom was terrible and more than justified the Divine judgment of its corruption.  Lot had showed that his years with Abraham had ennobled him so much that although Sodom had made a mark on him, he had remained righteous, even heroically so.  Despite the mortal danger of being hospitable to visitors in the cruel environment of Sodom, Lot took the "men" into his home.  There they said they wanted to KNOW them, meaning they wanted to sodomize them.  (Rashi, Ibn Ezra)
        Where tribes turned into kingdoms; Ammon and Moab

Lot also had something terrible happen to him.  Evidently he and his daughters , then grown-up were in an isolated place for a long stretch and the girls gave up hope of ever meeting a man and having children.  They decided their father would have to father their possible children, so they got him drunk and the inevitable happened.  Two sons were the result;  Ammon and Moab.  This happened a good 4,000 +years ago. They became our distant cousins; now no longer in existence. 


This shows me that if Lot could argue with G-d, then so can we under certain circumstances;  like standing up for  the Jewish people who lived in Skogie, Illinois when the Nazis came and berated them with their presence. However, I'm sure that many Holocaust victims did this as well, asking G-d for their lives or the lives of their family, and G-d didn't reply.  One must remember that Abraham asked;  not Lot. Even G-d knows when to bend his own rules once in a while.  We are not robots only able to follow what directions are fed into us.  We had minds.   

Now, since the Holocaust, we are asking again to save our people.  Let us hope we will be and are worthy enough as a human to be heard.      

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

The Bible (Tanach)-the Stone Edition, ArtScroll Series by Me'sorah Publications, Ltd.