A Long-Standing Friend of Jews

Chapter 2 deals with Allende’s attitudes toward Jews, and it is divided into three sections. The first section focuses on his stance toward Jews from his election as senator in 1945 through his presidential victory in 1970. Senator Allende demonstrated multiple instances of friendliness toward Jews and the State of Israel, eventually becoming a recognized friend of the Zionist Federation. The second section deals with Allende’s attitudes toward Jews and Israel during his time in office—that is, from September 4, 1970, to September 11, 1973. During that time, Allende made numerous pro-Jewish gestures. He successfully interceded on behalf of Jewish-Russian dissidents sentenced to death—the “Leningrad Eleven”—while also defending Israel from left-wing criticism. The third and final section of this chapter contextualizes Allende’s friendliness toward Jews within the political culture of the Chilean Left. His stance was consistent with that of Socialists, Communists, and other leftists who, since the 1930s, had adopted an anti-Fascist identity that included a condemnation of antisemitism.