Santiago. Chile has banned Israel from participating in the FIDAE International Aerospace Exhibition. The trade fair, which is also a showcase for weapons and other military equipment, will take place from April 9th to 14th in the capital of the South American country.
In January, Chile asked the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate the actions of Israel and Gaza and in the occupied territories ( Amerika21 reported). President Gabriel Boric explained on his government’s move: “Chile acts consistently on the basis of principles. Respect for human rights, which are clearly being violated in Gaza, prompted me to take this logical decision.” Parliamentarians, a variety of organizations and thousands of people welcomed the decision in an online campaign. However, the Jewish community and the Israeli ambassador sharply criticized her.
Since the first version in 1980, the show has grown into one of the five largest aviation shows in the world and the largest in Latin America. The event is organized by the state and the Chilean Air Force and underwent a turn towards the weapons theater. In the past, Mirage, Tornado and F16 fighter-bombers crossed the Chilean sky in display flights.
Israel wanted to go through the Directorate for International Defense Cooperation (spear) will again assert its influence on the trade in war materials in Latin America in Santiago in 2024.
A group of nine defense companies turned to an appeals court to reverse the president’s decision. She complained against the Chilean state for arbitrary discrimination by the president, but were unsuccessful. The court ruled that the arguments presented in support of the petition did not allow any conclusion to be drawn that constitutional rights had been violated.
President Boric’s decision received some public response. Over 150 organizations from all areas of society and several thousand individuals signed a letter to President Boric online, which is available to Amerika21 (see attached PDF file). In it they welcomed his decision and called for further measures.
Not only should Israel be excluded from FIDAE, but all cooperation or training activities on Chilean territory should also be canceled. Furthermore, Chile should no longer purchase any weapons, defense or security systems from Israel in the future.
The Chilean-Palestinian Friendship group, made up of members of parliament directed with Che Guevara’s daughter, the doctor Aleida Guevara, and a grandson of Nelson Mandela, Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela. Both expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian people and welcomed the president’s decision.
Aleida Guevara said in her speech that Boric showed a very good attitude and she thinks “that’s what we have to do in this world.”
Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, parliamentarian and ambassador for the Campaign for the Return of Palestine, quoted his grandfather as saying: “Our freedom is incomplete as long as there is no freedom for Palestine.”
The Israeli embassy and the Jewish community in Chile made harsh accusations. Israeli Ambassador Gil Artzyeli explained to the press: “It’s not an isolated case, it’s a story of anti-Israel government policy.” The Israeli government is considering recalling the military attaché, the diplomat said, as they are only present in embassies of friendly countries. The Israeli community spoke of anti-Semitic bias in the current Chilean government.
Meanwhile, four former high-ranking officers of the Chilean Armed Forces expressed concern about the Boric government’s decision to exclude Israeli companies from the next edition of FIDAE. This has “serious strategic-political implications, as our country is highly dependent on Israel for defense and space development,” they warned.