— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn)
December 19, 2021
But some in Chile’s small Jewish community have expressed concern over his win.
Mr. Boric has previously attracted criticism for his stance on Israel and defended his claims that Israel has committed genocide.
During the hotly contested campaign in the country, Mr. Boric referred to the State of Israel as ‘murderous’ in a meeting with the Jewish community as well as signalling his support for the Palestinian cause in a meeting with Chilean-Palestinians.
In a Chilean TV interview, he said: "All the countries that violate international law, such as Israel, China, or Turkey, should respect international norms. It doesn't matter how much power that country has, we need our foreign policy to defend human rights with all its might.”
Mr. Boric, who will become Chile’s youngest-ever president also attracted criticism for a 2019 tweet in which he responded to a Rosh Hashanah gift of honey from Chile’s Jewish community by posting: “ The Jewish Community in Chile sends me a jar of honey for the Jewish New Year, reaffirming its commitment to "a more inclusive, supportive and respectful society." I appreciate the gesture but they could start by asking Israel to return the illegally occupied Palestinian territory.
The leader of the Chilean community in Israel told Israel Hayom: Boric has voted for every bill against Israel, called Israel a murderous state on public television, and consistently supports a boycott of Israel."
Chile is the largest Palestinian ex-pat community in the world and home to over 450,000 Palestinian migrants, many of whom are Christian. The country’s Jewish population is believed to number less than 20,000.
