Chavez condemns attack on Caracas synagogue, blames opposition

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday condemned an attack on a Caracas synagogue amid tense relations with Israel, suggesting it was plotted by opposition leaders to tarnish his self-styled socialist revolution.

Armed men broke into a synagogue in Venezuela's capital late on Friday night, destroying religious objects and spray-painting walls in what Jewish leaders called the worst attack ever on their community in Venezuela.

The socialist leader last month expelled the Israeli ambassador and cut diplomatic ties in protest over the military campaign in Gaza that killed nearly 1,300 people.

"We condemn the actions on the synagogue of Caracas," Chavez said in a televised speech on Sunday. "It must be asked ... who benefits from these violent incidents. It is not the government, nor the people, nor the revolution."

In an often cryptic response, he suggested opposition leaders plotted the attack to reduce his chances in a February 15 referendum on a constitutional amendment that would let him stay in office after his term ends in 2013.

The Anti-Defamation League issued a response to the vandalization of Caracas' oldest synagogue saying it was "a modern day Kristallnacht" and "reminiscent of the darkest days leading to the Shoah."

Two security guards were overpowered by about 15 people who ransacked the synagogue's sanctuary and offices on Friday, leaving graffiti such as: "We don't want murderers, and Jews, get out."

The incident forced the synagogue to cancel Saturday's worship service.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro condemned the attack, which came amidst Chavez's close relations with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The ADL said the incident was not random, rather it was "directly related to the atmosphere of anti-Jewish intimidation promoted by President Chavez and his government apparatus."

The ADL called for Chavez to "abandon the official government rhetoric of demonization of Israel and the Jews and to publicly denounce this wanton act of anti-Semitic violence."

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro condemned the attack and promised it would be investigated, while reiterating his government's opposition to what he called Israel's criminal government.

"We respect the Jewish people, but we ask respect for the people of Palestine and their right to life," Maduro said in a ceremony called to welcome home two Venezuelan diplomats expelled from Israel this week.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry ordered the envoys to leave after Venezuela expelled all Israeli diplomats on January 6th, to protest Israel's offensive in the Gaza strip. Chavez labeled Israeli leaders as genocidal, as nearly 1,300 Palestinians are said to have died in the 22-day offensive in Gaza.

Leaders of Venezuela's estimated 15,000-member Jewish community warned that vocal denunciations of Israel by Chavez and the country's government-funded news media may have encouraged Friday's attack.

"These declarations permeate society," said Abraham Levy, president of the Venezuelan Confederation of Israelite Associations.

"We feel uncomfortable, threatened and intimidated," said Elias Farache, of the association.

The Argentine office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization, condemned the attack and warned of an anti-Semitic campaign in Venezuela.

Chavez in 2005 sparked outrage in the Jewish community by stating that those who killed Jesus Christ had become the owners of the world's riches. A Venezuelan Jewish organization later came to Chavez's defense, denying the statement was anti-Semitic.