The Hashomer Hatzair Socialist Zionist youth movement has launched a protest campaign aimed at the regime of Hugo Chavez over its anti-Israel and anti-Semitic actions. The ongoing campaign involves demonstrations outside Venezuela's embassies and consulates in several cities worldwide.
Youthful Zionist protesters from the hundred-year-old self-described "Jewish Socialist-Zionist movement" held demonstrations on Friday in Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Bulgaria, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Protests are also being held in front of Venezuelan consulates in Brazil and the United States, with yet more slated to come in this global campaign.
In addition to vocal protest and waving the Israeli flag, Hashomer Hatzair activists in all cities are delivering a letter from the movement addressed to the respective Venezuelan ambassadors, which includes a message for the Venezuelan people and government.
"After finding out about the expulsions of the Israeli ambassador from Venezuela and of his Venezuelan counterpart from Israel, the profanation on the synagogue of Mariperez on the 30th of January and the attack on the Jewish Community Centre on the 27th of February, the calls for a boycott of Israel and the atmosphere of insecurity experienced by the Venezuelan Jewish community in the past few months, we decided to take action," the Hashomer Hatzair letter declares.
"In fact, as a Jewish youth movement strongly connected with the Jewish people throughout the world, we first want to express our solidarity and support to the Jewish community in Venezuela," the letter continues, "but also to the whole Venezuelan people that is affected when a part of it is under pressure."
Hashomer Hatzair explains to the Venezuelan diplomats, "Zionism stems from the belief that all peoples deserve a right to self-determination, and that Israel is the expression of Jewish self-determination. Our vision is to create and maintain a self-critical balance between a Socialist, Jewish society and a pluralistic, democratic and secular state that ensures social justice for all."
Emphasizing the movement's ideological credentials for the ostensibly left-wing Chavez, the letter says, "Our movement believes in Socialism and in the Sisterhood of Nations as tools and ways of life that allow people to live truly human lives. Hence, we consider this act [of expelling the Israeli ambassador to Venezuela] a violent means of expressing dissatisfaction that cuts the relations." 
"Zionism stems from the belief that all peoples deserve a right to self-determination, and that Israel is the expression of Jewish self-determination."
The youth movement calls on Chavez to reestablish bilateral relations with Israel and to "allow all human beings no matter their religion, race, gender and political affiliation to live in peace, not only by declarations, but also by creating the right atmosphere in the official statements and in the media; behaving in a truly democratic way, as we, as a movement, try to achieve in Israel and all over the world."
An additional reason why the movement opposes Chavez's "boycott and aggressive actions and speeches," the letter says, is that they "make the Israeli people feel isolated and affect negatively the Israeli motivation towards a pacific solution [to the Israeli-Arab conflict]."
Hashomer Hatzair, as a movement, believes in a "dialogue that will force both Israelis and Palestinians to lower down their weapons and to, bravely, talk." The letter insists, "As part of our Zionism, we support and strive towards the solution of two states for two peoples."
Dario Teitelbaum, spokesman for Hashomer Hatzair, said that the idea for the protest campaign against the Chavez regime was "crystallized into an action" during a "Journey to Poland" program which took place in February 2009.