Venezuela’s Jewish leaders met Thursday with President Hugo Chavez raise the problem of anti-Semitism in state media and to ask him to restore diplomatic relations with Israel.
The Venezuelan Confederation of Israelite Associations said its representatives gave the president a dossier containing numerous examples of anti-Semitic messages that have appeared "almost daily, and for several years, in state media and government-friendly media."
Salomon Cohen, president of the confederation, said he was satisfied with the meeting at the presidential palace in Caracas.
Chavez reportedly promised the Jewish delegation that he would study everything they gave him.
"We reviewed the negative consequences that hateful expressions can lead to and how they can affect the security and integrity of the institutions and individuals that make up the community of Venezuelan Jews," the organization said in a statement following the meeting.
Several anti-Jewish incidents took place in Venezuela over the last two years.
In January 2009, a Caracas synagogue was ransacked and vandalized, and authorities later arrested 11 people, including eight police officers, suspected of participating.
The following month, unidentified attackers lobbed a small explosive at a Jewish community centre in the capital, damaging its doors but not hurting anyone.
Chavez's government recently decided to step up security at synagogues and Jewish community centres during the Jewish High Holidays celebrations, according to the Jewish community.The Jewish delegation also asked Chavez to restore diplomatic ties between Venezuela and Israel.
Chavez, who is a close ally of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, severed ties with Israel in January 2009 to protest the operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
According to Associated Press, Chavez did not speak with journalists following Thursday's meeting, but he called the gathering "extraordinary" in a message posted on his Twitter account, saying he and Jewish leaders wrapped up the meeting "hugging and praying for peace."
The leftist leader said recently some of his political opponents have wrongly attempted to portray him as "anti-Jewish," which he said is false.
"We respect and love the Jewish people," said Chavez during a visit to the International Tourism Fair in Caracas.
Around 15,000 Jews live in Venezuela. Several hundreds left the country for the US over the last years out of fear for growing anti-Semitism.