The results of the extreme policy could be seen on the facade of the Bikur Cholim synagogue over the weekend. "I am sure that the government in Chile will fight antisemitism in the country," wrote Israel's new ambassador in Santiago, Peleg Lewi, in a tweet that contains quite a bit of cynicism on social network X, because it is clear that the Boric government not only has no intention of curbing antisemitism in the country, but is careful to fan it.

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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."

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Chilean President Gabriel Boric's pitch last week to enshrine greater state control over lithium is emerging as the latest test for the resource nationalism embraced by Latin America's ascendant left but which has proven tough to implement in practice.

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While the former student protest leader's proposal to give the government a majority stake in all future lithium projects faces an uncertain path in Congress, its mere introduction shook one of the mining industry's most lucrative corners. The push from Boric also highlights the long-running regional tension between governments' hunger for control of coveted commodities and future profits versus their ongoing need for private sector capital and know-how. "In Chile, it's probably going to be the most significant case," said Carlos Pascual, top energy executive with IHS Markit, referring to other regional efforts to exert more government control over the mineral seen as key to a greener future and citing Chile's outsize role in the global metals market as the world's top producer of copper and No. 2 in lithium.

Last year, Boric's fellow in Mexico, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, enacted a sweeping lithium nationalization and later ordered the creation of a new state-run lithium company, LitioMx, even though the country is still far from selling its first cargo of the ultra-light metal.

Lopez Obrador, who reveres the country's landmark 1938 oil nationalization, justified his policy as its logical extension. He invoked past abuses at the hands of colonial masters and more recent corporate titans, arguing that only the government can prevent exploitation and ensure broadly-distributed benefits.

Lithium is in high demand for rechargeable batteries for future fleets of electric vehicles in the global transition to green energy. Peru, a mining powerhouse best known for copper, might have pursued a similar approach to Boric to bolster its development of lithium had former President Pedro Castillo not been ousted late last year.

The leftist Castillo won a narrow victory in 2021, pledging to nationalize the ultra-light metal along with other minerals including copper, but later moderated his position, leaving the promise unfulfilled. That leaves the exception to the trend, Argentina, as an increasingly likely Latin American destination for new private capital for lithium.

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Forest fires across south-central Chile that have left 24 people dead and swallowed up hundreds of houses spread into new areas on Wednesday after raging overnight, burning up the habitats of vulnerable woodland animals.

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Chile's national forests association CONAF said on Wednesday that the area affected by the fires had spread to over 300,000 hectares (741,315 acres) – an area nearly twice the size of Greater London.  Authorities said some 2,180 people have been injured and 1,180 houses have been destroyed, with most of the deaths and damages in the south-central Biobio, Araucania, and Ñuble regions.

In the rehabilitation center in Chillan, the capital of the Ñuble region, veterinarians treated burns on animals native to the woodlands.

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Chilean President-elect Gabriel Boric, who won his country's election on Sunday with close to 56% of the vote, on Monday called for the people to join him in "building bridges."

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However, the progressive Boric's anti-Israel positions are causing worry in the Chilean Jewish community.

Like many politicians on the Latin American Left, Boric, 36 – who on March 22 will be sworn in as Chile's youngest-ever president – holds clear positions about the foreign policy he intends to lead.

Two years ago, the local Jewish community presented him with a traditional Rosh Hashana gift of honey, and Boric responded by tweeting: "The Jewish community gave me honey to emphasize its commitment to a more accepting, supportive and respectful society."

"I thank you for the step, but you can start by demanding that Israel return the Palestinian territory it occupies illegally," his tweet continued.

Boric has a long history of left-wing activity, going back to his student days, when he was a leader of the country's stormy "social justice" protests that erupted in 2011 and again in October 2019, demanding that the country's economy be strengthened and restored to a welfare state model.

When asked during a TV interview about his previous remarks against Israel (Boric has accused Israel of committing genocide), Boric said he still believed that to be true.

La Comunidad Judía en Chile me envía un tarrito de miel por el año nuevo judio, reafirmando su compromiso cn "una sociedad más inclusiva, solidaria y respetuosa". Agradezco el gesto pero podrían partir por pedirle a Israel que devuelva el territorio palestino ilegalmente ocupado. pic.twitter.com/rtb1dt8QRP

— Gabriel Boric Font (@gabrielboric) October 2, 2019

"All the countries that violate international law, such as Israel, China, or Turkey, should respect international norms. It doesn't matter how much power that country has, we need our foreign policy to defend human rights with all its might, regardless of the government," Boric told the interviewer.

Chile is home to some half a million Palestinian immigrants, most of whom are Christian. The country's Jewish population, in comparison, numbers only tens of thousands.

President of the Chilean community in Israel Gabriel Colodro told Israel Hayom that "Boric has voted for every bill against Israel, called Israel a murderous state on public television, and consistently supports boycott of Israel."

However, Colodro said, he is Chile's president-elect, a fact that should not only be respected, but appreciated. "He will be judged by his actions, not his declarations," Colodro said.

"His remarks and the agreements he has made have an antisemitic nature, but it's not important what he has said, but what he will do. There is concern for the Jewish community [in Chile], but we wish him success," Colodro said.

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The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding between Israel's Ministry of Science, Technology and Space and the Chilean National Authority for Scientific and Technological Research, as well as agreements related to aviation, and a declaration of intent on health and medical cooperation between the two countries' health ministries.

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"Israel and Chile have a lot in common," said Netanyahu. "We share values of democracy and human rights. We share a belief in market economies and both of us have done a few things to promote these values in our respective countries."

"We believe in entrepreneurship. We believe in creativity. We have relatively small, not so small, but relatively small, very vibrant economies," he continued. "It's recognized by the countries in Latin America, Chile's capacity in this regard just as the countries of the Middle East and the world recognize Israel's capacities as an innovation nation."

As part of his three-day visit, Piñera drew the ire of the Israeli government when he visited the Temple Mount on Tuesday accompanied by senior Palestinian Authority officials.

He apologized to President Reuven Rivlin for the incident.

On the diplomatic front, Piñera said the Chilean Embassy would not relocate from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

Pinera also reiterated his support for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Chile has the largest Palestinian community outside the Middle East and has seen increasing anti-Semitism in recent years.

Piñera also visited the Western Wall and Yad Vashem in the Israeli capital.

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