Maduro calls on world Jews to help end Netanyahu 'infernal madness'
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Venezuela's President has called on Jewish communities worldwide to stand against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's regional war campaign.
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro waits to receive attendees at the start of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) Summit in Caracas, Venezuela, Dec. 14, 2024 (AP, File)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has issued a direct appeal to Jewish communities around the world, urging them to take a moral stand against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's violent and expansionist policies, which he described as a campaign of regional destabilization and colonization.
Speaking during a televised address on Thursday, Maduro denounced "Israel's" escalating assault on Iran and condemned its long-running occupation and aggression across the Middle East, calling Netanyahu a "war criminal" who is already wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"I send a message to the noble Jewish people across the world, including those living in the occupied Palestinian territories or within the borders of the State of Israel: You must stop the war," he declared.
Maduro's message comes amid a growing chorus of international outrage against "Israel's" militarized agenda, which he characterized as an attempt to dominate and colonize West Asia through violence, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid. Citing the ongoing genocide in Gaza, now in its 21st month, as well as the 2024 war on Lebanon, land usurpations in Syria, and airstrikes on Yemen, Maduro laid the blame squarely on Netanyahu's regime.
"You must stop Netanyahu and put an end to this infernal madness of waging war against all neighbouring countries, and this madness of invading and colonising the entire Middle East and West Asia," he said.
Framed aggression
Maduro's remarks were echoed by other senior Venezuelan officials. On June 26, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello revealed that opposition figures in Venezuela had plotted to attack a Caracas synagogue and falsely blame Iran and the Bolivarian movement, in an attempt to sabotage Tehran–Caracas ties and stoke Western intervention.
Cabello accused opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Ivan Simonovis of conspiring with Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's deposed Shah, to launch a media stunt smearing Iran as a global threat. He condemned the plan as part of a wider imperialist strategy to weaponize religion and destabilize anti-colonial alliances.
At a peace march in Caracas, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil dismissed claims that the Middle East wars are driven by religion, instead framing them as imperial campaigns aimed at controlling resources and entrenching military power.
"Zionism serves as a platform for inhuman aggression," Gil stated, reaffirming Venezuela's support for oppressed peoples and calling for a united global front to resist imperialism and Zionist violence.
Read more: Jewish group calls for cutting ties with 'Israel', denouncing Zionism
Regional ruin
The toll of Netanyahu's regional campaign is staggering. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 132,000 wounded since October 2023.
In Lebanon, Israeli strikes since the 2024 ceasefire have killed at least 172 civilians and wounded more than 400. Israeli attacks in Syria and Yemen have destroyed critical infrastructure and claimed civilian lives, while recent strikes on Iran have brought the region to the brink of full-scale war.
Meanwhile, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez warned that "Israel's" nuclear arsenal, under the current leadership, poses a global threat, calling the Zionist regime a "paper tiger" whose so-called deterrence has collapsed under resistance pressure.
Maduro's remarks also highlighted Netanyahu's status as a fugitive in the eyes of international law. On November 21, 2024, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Netanyahu's arrest, charging him with war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in "Israel's" siege of Gaza.
Moral uprising
Yet even as Israeli violence escalates, Jewish resistance to Netanyahu's policies is growing louder.
In the United States, groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow have organized mass protests, sit-ins, and civil disobedience actions, declaring "Not in Our Name" and demanding an end to US support for "Israel's" war machine.
Within "Israel" itself, the Standing Together movement, an Arab-Jewish grassroots coalition, has pushed back against apartheid and militarism, calling for a "just peace rooted in equality and decolonization."
Read more: 'Not in our name': The Jewish movement for Palestine
