Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Photo: EFE.
The Embassy of Colombia in the United States made a statement stressing that “denouncing what is happening in Palestine is not anti-Semitism nor does it have a religious character, it is simply expressing humanity.” The Colombian diplomatic mission made this statement after the US State Department released the “International Religious Freedom Report 2023” on Wednesday, June 26, in which it again described as “anti-Semitic” the comments of the Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The Colombian statement highlighted that the position of the Colombian government towards Israel “is directed exclusively towards its government, not towards the Israeli people or the Jewish communities in the world and especially in Colombia.”
It added that the Jewish community in Colombia is an integral part of the diverse and vibrant nation and that together with it, the Colombian government “is working actively to combat anti-Semitism” which has “no place” in the country.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, upon publication of the aforementioned State Department report, claimed that “since the terrible terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7 and the subsequent conflict in Gaza, both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have increased considerably around the world.”
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In the chapter on Colombia of that report, the State Department referred to President Petro’s comments in public and on social media where he compared the Israeli atrocities in Gaza with those of the German Nazi regime.
The Colombian Embassy emphasized in its statement that Petro and his government have repeatedly made their position clear on the situation in Palestine and specifically with what is happening in Gaza.
It pointed out that in the ongoing Gaza war “the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution that underpin international humanitarian law have not been respected” and “children, women, humanitarian workers, journalists and medical personnel continue to fall victims.”
It added that Colombia continues to advocate for respect for international humanitarian law and compliance with the resolutions of the United Nations and the ruling of the International Court of Justice regarding the Gaza genocide.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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