May 29, 2025 — New York, NY
American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, today expressed profound concern regarding the Chilean government’s behavior toward the State of Israel and the Chilean Jewish community.
In the latest of a series of harmful moves by President Gabriel Boric’s administration—revealing clear anti-Israel bias and blatant disregard for the safety of Chile’s Jewish population—three Chilean military attachés in Israel were recalled this week. Reports now suggest the government may sever all ties with Israel in the coming days.
This is only the most recent instance of President Boric’s problematic policies that are anti-Israel or harmful to the Jewish community. Since coming into office, Boric has refused to meet with the local Jewish community or address its growing sense of vulnerability stemming from virulent anti-Israel and antisemitic voices in the political, academic, and media spheres.
“President Boric and his government must immediately cease all actions that could be interpreted as endorsing or implicitly condoning further harassment and violence against the Jewish community. Any move toward severing diplomatic ties with Israel in the coming days would be a dangerous and damaging precedent, putting Chile’s moral standing and the well-being of the Chilean Jewish community in jeopardy,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch.
Deutch met with Chilean government officials in Santiago a few months after the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel to discuss the country’s lack of moral clarity in responding to the Hamas-led attack. He also called on President Boric to refrain from taking action regarding Israel and urged him to reaffirm his administration’s commitment to protecting the country’s small Jewish community from antisemitic attacks and harassment, in line with Chile’s international human rights obligations.
AJC has repeatedly sounded the alarm over the Chilean government’s failure to safeguard its Jewish community—targeted by repeated synagogue vandalism, harassment and surveillance of Jewish institutions and events, and attacks on Jewish tourists since the October 7, 2023, attacks.
“For more than 18 months, Chile’s Jewish community has faced relentless hatred and harassment. President Boric must act now to prove that Chile’s commitment to international human rights truly protects all its citizens—including Jewish residents and visitors. Chile’s standing as a human rights champion is on the line,” said Dina Siegel Van, Director of AJC’s Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA).
AJC is not alone in voicing concerns about the safety of Chile’s Jewish community. UN human rights expert Professor Nazila Ghanea, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, recently issued an “allegation letter” criticizing the Chilean government’s indifference to antisemitic attacks, especially since October 2023. In March, she urged the government to address the pattern of antisemitic incidents and requested details on any steps taken to combat hate speech in line with international standards.
AJC has maintained a strong, long-standing partnership with Comunidad Judía de Chile, the representative body of Chilean Jewry, regularly traveling to Chile to bolster Chile-U.S.-Israel ties. In 2023, AJC’s Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA) brought together Jewish leaders from across the region in Santiago to unite against the surge of antisemitism spreading through Chile and other Ibero-American countries following the Hamas attack on Israel.
AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York, 25 regional offices across the United States, 15 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC’s mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world. For more, please visit www.ajc.org.
