Over a decade after Venezuela cut off diplomatic ties with Israel in response to Operation Cast Lead, Acting President Juan Guaidó has announced plans to renew relations between Caracas and Jerusalem, Israel Hayom has learned.
A few months ago, Guaidó appointed former chief rabbi of Venezuela Pynchas Brener to act as a presidential envoy to Israel. Brener told Israel Hayom that a formal announcement from Guaidó about renewed diplomatic relations is expected within a few days.
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In preparation for the diplomatic event, the opposition government in Venezuela has opened an online "virtual embassy" in Israel.
Brener has lived in the US for years. Recently, after having been appointed ambassador, he has visited Israel a few times, but will relocate only when Jerusalem recognizes his appointment.
Brener said that thus far, Israel has refrained from formalizing the appointment because Israel and Venezuela have not had relations since former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez severed them.
"Washington recognizes the Venezuelan ambassador to the US appointed by Guaidó, why shouldn't Israel do the same?" asked Brener, who is working to establish what he calls "Venezuelan presence in Israel."
"The situation in Venezuela is a catastrophe. 85% of the population opposes the socialist regime. I lived in Venezuela for 44 years. It was a country that took in refugees from Europe, from South America. Venezuela was a paradise, even if there was a certain level of corruption," Brener tells Israel Hayom.
"Today, there is almost nothing but corruption and people are fleeing. The poverty is terrible. Governments like Maduro's need a poor population, which will think about how to find food for their children rather than about how to organize a revolution. The average monthly salary is $3 to $4. My monthly pension is a dollar and a half. Look at how Israel has progressed over the last 20 years, while Venezuela, with all its enormous oil wealth, has been going backward," he said.
One of the steps Brener is promoting as part of his work to renew Venezuelan-Israeli relations is a declaration by 29 members of Venezuela's elected parliament that recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. A parliamentary friendship association is also being established.
For a year and a half, Venezuela has been engulfed in a political and constitutional crisis following a disputed presidential election between Nicolás Maduro and Guaidó. The crisis has led to economic disaster, which has prompted many residents of Venezuela to move away, seeking to build their lives elsewhere.
Guaidó's status as president is disputed. A total of 59 countries, including Israel, have recognized him as the legitimate president of Venezuela, in place of Maduro. Countries that support Maduro include Iran, Turkey, Cuba, North Korea, Russia, China, and the Palestinian Authority.
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