In late December 2024, an evangelical clergy organization erected a tall metal Hanukkah menorah near the waterfront in Puerto Montt, southern Chile, to commemorate the Jewish holiday. The city of 250,000 residents houses a small Jewish community and serves as a popular destination for Israeli backpackers completing military service, who use it as a launching point for national park treks and tours of the scenic lakes region – yet in Chile's post-October 7 political atmosphere, such a gesture sparked immediate backlash.
Social media erupted first with furious posts. "Remove this symbol of death from here," Senator Ivan Moreira Barros, representing the Los Lagos region where Puerto Montt serves as capital, declared on X. He also addressed Chilean President Gabriel Boric directly, stating "You support Palestinian rights in the face of genocide, so make sure this happens."
Following the digital campaign came physical action. Unidentified vandals sprayed the menorah with red paint, scrawled "murderers" across it in bold letters and damaged its foundation.
Only a handful confronted this cowardly vandalism and blatant antisemitism. The nation's Jewish community filed protests while Israeli Ambassador to Chile Gil Artzyeli issued condemnation statements targeting Moreira Barros and other politicians participating in the incitement campaign – yet among Chilean politicians, virtually only Rodrigo Wainraihgt, Puerto Montt's mayor elected merely two months prior, openly opposed these manifestations of hatred and bigotry.
"I clearly supported Jews' right to celebrate Hanukkah peacefully and quietly, which is why I sharply criticized this act and those responsible for it," Wainraihgt told Israel Hayom during his current visit to Israel as part of a Latin American mayors' delegation that also attended the "Muniexpo 2025" local government conference.
Following the menorah vandalism episode, leftist forces in his city and nation have branded Wainraihgt an "Israel supporter," labeling him "pro-Zionist," "genocide supporter," "friend of the Jews" and worse. "I'm neither pro-Israeli nor pro-Palestinian," he stated. "I consider myself neutral. Unlike others, I listen to both sides before forming opinions about a country I don't truly know and a problem where I lack expertise. This is precisely why I wanted to come here and witness reality firsthand."
Wainraihgt faced intense criticism for his decision to tour Israel (he was the sole Chilean accepting the invitation), yet he remains undeterred. "There were numerous personal attacks from various people on social media, but I'm acting for my city's benefit and my people's welfare. For this purpose I remain courageous and unmoved by those who merely sit on the sidelines and criticize."
In 2025 Chile, even neutrality constitutes taking sides. Under Boric's populist leftist leadership, the nation has embraced aggressive anti-Israel policies. In early June, the president announced withdrawing the country's military attachés from Israel, considering military import suspensions, supporting legal proceedings against Israel in The Hague, backing arms embargoes and banning imports from Judea and Samaria. Previously, he recalled Chile's ambassador from Israel, effectively reducing diplomatic relations between the nations to near-complete suspension.
"The president repeatedly claims there's 'genocide' in Gaza while ignoring Hamas's actions, a murderous terror organization seeking not only Israel's elimination but the entire Western world's destruction," Wainraihgt, a Renovación Nacional (National Renewal) party member from Chile's center-Right, expressed regarding Boric. "He ignores the murders, rapes and Israeli suffering. Through his statements and actions he severely damaged relations between two countries that previously maintained very friendly ties based on extensive technological, military and academic cooperation."
"I hope our next president will restore Chile-Israel relations," Wainraihgt stated. The country anticipates general elections in November 2025. Constitutional restrictions prevent Boric from seeking another term, while his support ratings have plummeted following progressive social and economic policies. The Gaza war won't dominate the presidential campaign, yet regardless of the next president's identity, Israel will likely remain a target of government criticism.
A primary factor is Chile's Palestinian minority's political influence, numbering approximately 500,000 people (from roughly 20 million nationally) – the highest Palestinian concentration outside the Arab world. This large, vocal and assertive minority significantly impacts the young South American democracy's internal politics.
Major Chilean cities have witnessed numerous turbulent anti-Israel demonstrations, both before October 7 and especially following the Hamas massacre. Anti-Israel rhetoric is extreme, aggressive and deliberately conflates "Israel," "Zionism," "Jews," "imperialism," "occupation," "genocide" and other code words that Latin America's extreme left frequently employs to inflame emotions.
The Palestino soccer club from the country's premier league exemplifies this phenomenon, transforming every match into a public anti-Israel display, including featuring a "liberated Palestine" map on players' jerseys – replacing the number 1.
The combination of Palestinian lobby activities with Marxist and anti-American ideology that has consistently flourished in Chile, both before and after Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship, created an explosive mixture making Boric's administration the continent's most extreme symbol of anti-Israeli policy.
"The Palestinian community contains an extreme minority wanting to drag us into confrontation with Israel," Wainraihgt acknowledged. "But we cannot permit this. We must not abandon dialogue and joint efforts. I hope post-election Chile will renew good relations with Israel, which are important and stronger than any single president's politics."
Wainraihgt described how alongside his visit's human dimension, including touring the Nova memorial site and kibbutzim severely damaged on October 7 ("As a father of three children, my emotions were overwhelming. I witnessed bloodstains where they murdered a father before his children's eyes and heard testimonies about the horrific acts innocent young people endured who simply wanted to dance"), his primary objective involves establishing connections with Israeli companies and organizations to help his city advance technologically.
"We have much to learn from Israel," he said. "You possess extensive knowledge, tools and experience in technological and innovative initiatives that transformed and improved your economy and society. This inspires admiration. Puerto Montt and the Los Lagos region host major industries like salmon exports, but we want to advance other important sectors too, requiring us to embrace innovation concepts, advanced academic research and current technology. Without these elements we cannot truly progress."
"I believe shared interests can bridge any dispute," he added. "From the Israeli side I observed tremendous willingness to help and cooperate, despite the problematic situation between our governments. I'm departing with an extensive list of contacts and experts who offered assistance – this alone provides reason for optimism. If state-level problems exist, then local government and citizen levels can restore relations. This approach can repair what was nearly broken – and I hope during my next visit here, peace will return, the world will address extreme groups like Hamas, and genuine coexistence will emerge. Until then, I hope my city advances and Chile returns to normalcy."
