Foreign Affairs
The Venezuelan government denied the encouragement or endorsement of actions against the Jewish community in Venezuela and any links with Islamic groups Hammas or Hezbollah.

Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro said that the statements appeared in Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, where the Venezuelan government was accused of supporting anti-Semitic groups, are false. He added that the accusation was due to Venezuela criticism of the recent Israeli incursion into Gaza Strip, reported Reuters.

"There is not and will never be any anti-Semitism. Our criticism has been and remains effective in the face of the crimes of political leaders of the State of Israel," Maduro told state-run TV channel VTV during an interview.

The diplomat added that those who make such claims "purport to blackmail by arguing that anyone who criticizes Israel's leaders joins automatically and forthwith the list of anti-Jewish people."