Israel excluded from charity event in Chile thanks to the Palestinians

Michal Hayat, the wife of Israel’s Ambassador to Chile, Eldad Hayat, was recently excluded by the Palestinians from an annual charity event hosted by the diplomatic community in the country’s capital Santiago, creating a minor diplomatic crisis with consequences.

This year, the event, which is attended by the spouses of diplomats, was to be hosted in a Palestinian club. The hosts notified Hayat she would not be invited to the event.

Hayat vigorously protested the move, saying it was a blatant breach of diplomatic protocol and arguing that this was considered support of a boycott against Israel.

“If we had been invited, we would’ve been happy to attend,” Hayat told the organization’s head, according to Israel’s Ynet news. “You are politicizing both the organization and the event, which is meant to raise money for the needy in Chile.”

The organizers apologized, but said nothing could be done. They also noted that several invitees canceled their participation in protest of the Palestinian belligerence.

The Israeli embassy verified that most Western countries did not send representatives to the event.

Germany’s ambassador and his wife expressed their unwavering support in a conversation with Hayat and told him that he and his wife have made their protest known to the president of the Diplomatic Spouses Club and to representatives from other European nations.

In a letter to the diplomatic corps in the country, Ambassador Hayat wrote that Israel’s exclusion from the event, “because of political reasons, stands in stark contrast to the accepted diplomatic code. Those who attend the event will be giving their support to ugly and inappropriate politicization of an organization whose charter determines is a-political, independent, and without religious characteristics.”

Chile in general has adopted an anti-Israel stance at international forums. The Palestinian community in Chile is believed to be the largest outside of the Middle East.

In July 2015, PLO Ambassador to Chile Imad Nabil Jada’a came under fire after he stated that there is no Jewish people and that the PLO would never recognize the Jews as such. He cited anti-Semitic writings to validate his statements.

By: World Israel News Staff