Introduction

Chilean President Salvador Allende was a long-time friend of Jews: in the 1930s, he expressed solidarity with European Jews; in the 1940s, he supported the establishment of a Jewish state; and in the 1950s and 1960s, he opposed left-wing criticism of Israel. Once in office, he appointed dozens of Jews to high-ranking positions, interceded on behalf of Jewish-Russian dissidents, and maintained strong diplomatic ties with Israel, among other pro-Jewish gestures. Remarkably, General Augusto Pinochet—who overthrew Allende and became the ultimate symbol of Latin America’s anti-Communist dictatorships—proved even friendlier toward Jews and the State of Israel. Despite his regime’s deplorable human rights record, Pinochet appointed Jewish personalities to serve as Chilean ambassadors to Israel, attended Yom Kippur services annually, and maintained a consistently pro-Israel stance. He viewed Jews as wealthy, white, and uniquely well connected in the US. Moreover, Jerusalem had become a key strategic ally of Santiago, supplying weapons that Washington withheld because of the dictatorship’s human rights abuses. In return, Pinochet staunchly supported Israel at the United Nations. Ties were so close that, when he was detained in London in 1998, Holocaust survivor publicly defended him.