World briefs

By JTA

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Colombia said like Israel

WASHINGTON (JTA)—Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez compared Colombia to “ Israel” as tensions between the two nations flared. Chavez, the autocrat whose relations with the United States have worsened as he has befriended Iran and Cuba, moved troops to the border with Colombia after Colombian troops raided a Colombian rebel retreat in Ecuador.

“We aren’t going to permit Colombia to become the Israel of these lands,” he said. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the ranking member of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, said the remark “reveals his anti-Israel bias, a growing contempt for democracy and his embrace of violent extremism.” 

AJCommittee raps Swiss vote on Israel

JERUSALEM (JTA)—The American Jewish Committee criticized Switzerland on its vote in favor of a U.N. Human Rights Council resolution critical of Israel. Not only was Switzerland the only European country to approve the March 6 resolution, it also lobbied E.U. countries (Switzerland is not a member) to vote for the measure, AJC Executive Director David Harris and President Richard Sideman noted in their letter to Swiss Minister of Foreign Affairs Micheline Calmy-Rey. Canada was the only country to vote against the resolution; 33 voted in favor, 16 abstained.

The resolution, sponsored by the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the League of Arab States, condemns Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, accuses Israel of “collective punishment” and of undermining international efforts aimed at invigorating the peace process. It calls for the cessation of the firing of “crude rockets” at Israel, but does not mention the firing of long-range Katyusha missiles.