Will Venezuela become Jew-Free???

More and more Jews are leaving....

The increasingly grim political situation, the nation's economic instability and Chavez's warm embrace of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have driven many Venezuelan Jews to consider their options abroad.

"A lot of people are leaving the country, but not only because they're Jewish," said Robert Bottome, publisher of VenEconomy Weekly in Caracas and an outspoken critic of the Chavez government. "It's because they feel the country is going down the drain. The opportunities to invest and grow have been severely curtailed. And if Chavez aligns himself with Iran, it's normal that Jews would start worrying about his intentions."

"Just about everyone you meet who's middle or upper class is thinking of other options," said Will Recant, the assistant executive vice president of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which sent a top-level delegation to Caracas two weeks ago to assess the situation. "Will they stay and, if so, for how long? If not, where will they go? Israel is always the first option, and the Jewish Agency is working with them on this."

Nearly a third of the community has fled over the past three years, and the number of Jews in Venezuela has dropped to 12,000 from about 17,000 in 2004, according to Recant.

Many have gone to Israel or the United States. Some have left for Costa Rica, Panama and other Spanish-speaking countries. Jewish community officials say the situation is volatile.