Palestine and Colombia
Gearóid Ó Loingsigh
18 October 2023
Colombian president, Gustavo Petro.
It is not often that I have the opportunity to speak well of Gustavo Petro’s government and the Historic Pact, but the genocide Israel is carrying out in Gaza gives me some reasons to speak well of Petro’s statements, though there are things that need to be done. We have to put words into action.
His statements were powerful. He reminded Colombia and the world that Colombia has also suffered Zionist violence. The Zionists Yair Klein and Raifal Eithan helped foment the paramilitary bloodbath in Colombia. Eithan is a particularly odious figure. As an Israeli Colonel, in 1978, he ordered the bombardment of a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon as a “reprisal” for an attack on the Zionist ambassador in London. This massacre in Gaza is not the first time the Zionists have acted savagely against the civilian population.
Petro finished off his message on the role of the Zionists in Colombia with a message that was unusual for a president, comparing the Zionists to the Nazis.
One day the government and army of Israel will ask for our forgiveness for what their men did in our land unleashing a genocide. I will embrace them and weep for the murders of Auschwitz and Gaza and also the Colombian Auschwitz. Hitler will be defeated for the good of humanity, democracy peace and freedom in the world.(1)It was not the only time he invoked Hitler and he has used the word genocide on various occasions his own tweets and in his retweets of others. His twitter feed is full of support messages, videos of marches against the Zionist Genocide and other declarations. Well, the Zionists wasted no time in replying to him. Israel announced the suspension of weapons to Colombia. And it is here that the first thing Petro should do arises.
In January of this year, Petro himself, as president authorized the purchase of an aerial defence system from the Zionist company Israel Aerospace Industries, to the tune of US $ 131.2 million.(2) He also purchased in the same month 18 howitzers from the Zionist company Elbit, when everyone, including the Colombian military expected the contract to go to the French company Nexter.(3) With the profits from its arms exports Israel manufactures the bombs that fall on hospitals in Gaza.
Between 2002 and 2022, Colombia received commercial transfers of weaponry for total value of US $ 2,446 million, almost half of it coming from the USA. Israel took second place in the same period exporting US $ 376 million. An interesting fact, it wasn’t the Uribe governments that bought most weapons from Israel, but the supposed champion of peace Juan Manuel Santos whose governments account for almost 70% of the purchases from Israel. Under the Duque government (2018-2022) Colombia did not buy any weapons from Israel.(4) It was Petro who revived the purchases from Zionists. Now he should not accept the Zionist’s suspension of arms sales, but rather cancel all Zionist arms purchases (regardless of whether this results in some contractual sanction), all cooperation with the Zionist armed forces and commit himself to not signing any contract with them. You cannot say we don’t accept those who commit genocide and then buy weapons from them.
The Israeli ambassador should be expelled forthwith. It is not enough to tell him to behave himself or else. The Police should be sent to the Embassy to pack their bags once and for all. It is also well known that Colombia is one of the preferred destinations for a break for the Zionist armed forces. A visa should be imposed on them and all the brothels set up in Tanganga for their exclusive “rest and recreation” and other such places in Bogotá and other cities should be closed.
In 2022, Colombia imported from Israel just over US $175.5 million. It is not that much bearing in mind that Israel exported a total of US $73,583 million around the world, but we have to begin somewhere. Boycotting those responsible for genocide should begin now and if Petro wants to be coherent he should ban the importation of all products from Israel. He should move from words to action.
Dignity starts at home.
Notes
(1) See https://x.com/petrogustavo/status/1713651638039117872?s=20 own translation used rather than google generated one on twitter.
(2) Defense News (05/01/2023) Colombia buys Israeli-made Barak MX air defense system. José Higuera. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2023/01/05/colombia-buys-israeli-made-barak-mx-air-defense-system/
(3) See https://x.com/petrogustavo/status/1713651638039117872?s=20 own translation used rather than google generated one on twitter.
(4) Defense News (05/01/2023)
Colombia buys Israeli-made Barak MX air defense system. José Higuera.
https://www.defensenews.com/land/2023/01/05/colombia-buys-israeli-made-barak-mx-air-defense-system/