Is Venezuela opposed to Zionism?

1. Maduro’s public accusations: political scapegoating with a religious label

Since at least 2019 and intensifying after the disputed July 2024 election, Nicolás Maduro has publicly accused opponents and foreign actors of being backed by “international Zionism,” saying Zionists control social networks, media and satellites that foment protests against his rule ^{[6] [1] [7]}. Multiple news outlets recorded those statements and framed them as part of Maduro’s strategy to explain and delegitimise large anti‑government protests following contentious electoral claims ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

2. How reporting characterises those claims: antisemitic trope or geopolitical critique?

Jewish and mainstream outlets treated Maduro’s language as antisemitic scapegoating rather than a narrow critique of Israeli policy. Coverage by JTA and The Times of Israel quoted Maduro blaming “international Zionism” for domestic unrest, and commentary framed that rhetoric within a longer pattern of antisemitic language from the Venezuelan leadership ^{[2] [1]}. Some state and allied outlets echo anti‑Zionist positions, but international reporting emphasises the overlap between anti‑Zionist rhetoric and classic antisemitic tropes in Venezuela’s discourse ^{[3] [5]}.

3. Historical context: a pattern stretching back to Chávez and earlier incidents

Reports and archival sources show similar language predates Maduro. Hugo Chávez‑era media and commentators used “Zionism” as a political foil, and opposition figures with Jewish heritage were targeted in the past with rhetoric characterised as antisemitic by U.S. Jewish organizations and Reuters ^{[8] [5]}. The pattern of conflating political opponents with “Zionism” is not new in Caracas; it has recurred across administrations and campaigns ^{[8] [5]}.

4. Domestic manifestations: protests, slogans and online abuse

Independent monitors and the U.S. State Department record antisemitic slogans at anti‑Israel rallies in Caracas that equated Zionism with Nazism and invoked violent imagery, and note the existence of many antisemitic X/Twitter accounts linked to Venezuelans that were later banned ^[4]. Venezuela’s Jewish community groups and watchdogs have reported state media sometimes repeating anti‑Zionist narratives in ways CAIV and others view as anti‑Jewish ^{[5] [4]}.

5. Competing viewpoints and political motives

Supporters of Maduro frame his rhetoric as anti‑imperialist or anti‑Zionist critique of foreign interference and media manipulation; state‑aligned outlets and allied international media relayed lines about “global Zionism” supporting far‑right Venezuelan forces ^[9]. Opponents, Jewish groups, and many international outlets interpret the same words as veiled or overt antisemitism intended to delegitimise dissent and mobilise supporters by naming a scapegoat ^{[2] [10]}.

6. What the sources do not say: official Venezuelan policy on Zionism

Available sources do not present a formal Venezuelan government policy document that explicitly defines a state position “opposed to Zionism” as a canonical foreign‑policy doctrine; instead, reporting documents repeated public accusations by Maduro and state media commentary that target “international Zionism” rhetorically (not found in current reporting). Sources focus on rhetoric, incidents, and reactions rather than a legislative or diplomatic decree formally banning or opposing Zionism in law ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}.

7. Why this matters: rhetoric, security and minority safety

Multiple sources link the rhetoric to real risks: public leaders’ accusations coincide with protests, arrests, and reported anti‑Jewish incidents, while civil‑society groups warn that conflation of “Zionism” with Jewish communities fuels discrimination and threats to the Jewish minority ^{[4] [5]}. Journalistic and NGO coverage treats the language as both a political tactic and an antisemitic hazard, which has consequences beyond abstract debate ^{[2] [4]}.

8. Bottom line — a rhetorical posture, not a simple read of state doctrine

Reporting in the provided sources shows Venezuelan leaders, especially Maduro, regularly attack “international Zionism” as a force behind domestic unrest, a practice journalists and Jewish organisations characterise as antisemitic scapegoating ^{[1] [2] [10]}. Whether that rhetoric constitutes an official, codified state opposition to Zionism “as an ideology” in the narrow diplomatic sense is not documented in these sources; the record instead demonstrates recurrent public accusations and associated social consequences ^{[1] [4] [5]}.