Israel Helps Venezuela in Its Darkest Hour

It is mind blowing, yet comforting at the same time, to listen to the leaders of the Venezuelan regime this week. Delcy Rodríguez (current President of Venezuela) publicly thanked an Israeli delegation that arrived in Venezuela to help them following the tragedy of the earthquakes that struck their capital. She stated:

“I would like to inform you that yesterday we received a highly professional and trained Israeli group, who arrived following contact made through the Jewish community in Venezuela … I thank them for their work. They have already met with Venezuelan authorities. This is a team with a high level of training and professionalism, and I hope we can continue to move forward in this rehabilitation stage.”

Anyone who knows our history knows this is a radical shift. For years we watched Hugo Chávez, the socialist dictator, curse Israel “from the depths of his guts” live on national television. His government severed relations, banned Israelis from entering, and allied with bitter enemies such as Iran and Hezbollah. But tragically, last week, the leaders of that very same regime woke up in their mansions to find a landscape of rubble caused by the earthquake. Reality has slapped them in the face, as they have had to pick up the phone, talk with Israel, and accept help from the nation they hated so much.

Unfortunately in Israel, we know a lot about collapsed infrastructure. For example, when a missile strikes and shakes buildings’ foundations, or when we have to search for signs of life in underground tunnels, Israeli technology is used to determine how to proceed. That same technology is what is being used in Venezuela today to figure out if a building on the verge of collapsing is safe, or to detect a heartbeat beneath tons of concrete. The Chávez regime, which has fallen behind in development despite its immense oil reserves, cannot offer this help to its own people. Israel can.

While the Venezuelan government faces its own crisis of incompetence, the ones saving lives are people with an immense heart: Israeli volunteers crossed the globe to help the moment the catastrophe struck. Take, for example, the ZAKA organization, the same heroic volunteers who identified the victims of the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. They have unparalleled experience in disasters and are right there in Venezuela, bringing their deep human compassion. Or, for instance, the official delegation from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But even more striking is seeing the delegation from the Israeli Defense Forces. It is truly moving to watch our soldiers help in a land where they were so heavily criticized by the regime in the past.

But what I want someone to explain to me is: Where are all those social media activists who were raging and tearing their clothes, supposedly for the Venezuelan people, when U.S. forces arrested the dictator Nicolás Maduro? Where are the humanitarian flotillas led by the hypocritical Greta, who claim to care so much about human rights so fiercely, yet do not send a single provision of aid to Venezuela? Total silence. Those fake defenders never cared about humanitarian causes, they only cared about finding an excuse to attack Israel. But when there are Venezuelans trapped under the rubble, the ones right there getting their hands dirty to rescue them are the Israeli teams and the international Jewish community, not the Instagram anti-Zionists.

It is incredible. I have Jewish friends from Denmark to Latin America who are currently raising funds to help those affected in Venezuela. We are all moved by this cause, and I want to make one thing crystal clear: the Chávez regime and the Venezuelan people are two completely different things. When we suffered the October 7th massacre, the vast majority of Venezuelans sent us messages of love, hugs, and support, even while their dictatorship applauded Hamas. We Israelis do not forget those who stood with us in our darkest hours. That is why, now that the Venezuelan people need us, Israel will be right there with them, despite whatever hate their regime may have hurled at us in the past.

This crisis marks a before and after because it appears to be the collapse not just of buildings, but of Hugo Chávez’s failed anti-Zionist project. We hope this transition brings a new beginning so that Venezuela can once again stand on Israel’s side. May we very soon celebrate the reopening of their embassy in Jerusalem as friendly nations. We will triumph together, rebuilding everything that was broken.