Presidential candidate accused of antisemitism defeated in Chilean primaries

A presidential candidate who has been accused of antisemitism has been defeated in the Chilean left-wing primaries, it was reported earlier this week.

Daniel Jadue, the Communist Party representative who was considered the frontrunner in the race, was defeated by Gabriel Boric in what has been viewed as an upset.

Mr Jadue has reportedly been dogged by allegations of antisemitism since his time at school, which extended to someone writing in his yearbook that the best “gift” he could be provided would be a “Jew to target”, as well as a joke prediction that he would “clean the city of Jews.”

During his time as the Mayor of Recoleta, Mr Jadue reportedly referred ot the Jewish community as the “Zionist community” and said: “I get along very well with Jews…I have some problems with Zionists.”

Mr Jadue also allegedly gave an interview where claimed that “the alternative media in the country are being bought by the Zionist community of Chile.”

In June, Chile’s Chamber of Deputies called upon Mr Jadue “to publicly and categorically deny the statements made in the biographical sketch of his school yearbook, which classifies him as antisemitic.” Mr Jadue responded by tweeting: “A country in the midst of a health and economic crisis, hundreds of deaths a day, families do not make ends meet. But right-wing MPs vote for me to explain what others wrote, in a school yearbook, 35 years ago! # Get Serious.”

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