Chile Forum

While doing some web browsing today I came accross the following story:

http://www.kawther.info/wpr/2009/01/30/ ... -patagonia

The author is a Palestinian woman who noticed considerable amounts of Israeli Occupation Forces in the south of Chile and Argentina in 2004, and also at the present time. The question is Why.......

Does anyone know about this, or is this just in internet legend?

According to an article I read a couple of years ago, Israel might be making contingency plans to relocate a portion of their population to Patagonia if the situation in the middle east becomes impossible.

If the story were true, the political situation in Chile could be much different than at present.

Probably looking for ex-SS. Heavy German influence in the south of South America and after WW2 some Nazi's escaped Europe to the Patagonia.

Unless Israel, Chile and Argentina are in cahoots they won’t be moving to South America. The Chilean and Argentinean Armies would be a formidable force for Israel. Probably the only time you would see them working together.

Yeah, I've been reading first-hand excerpts from hostel owners to travelers for a while on Thorn Tree and such.

Remember that Chile and Argentina are in the class of small but relatively developed countries that would be open to technology transfer from states like Israel. I would not be surprised if there were an unwritten agreement that Israeli soldiers on leave doing their traditional rite of passage might be free to engage in other matters.

Who knows?

Well, the IDF as usual have well placed friends;

"The former clothing mogul has spent more than $10 million on
"Pumalin Park," the largest privately-owned nature preserve in
the world. Tompkins has been working to get the land declared a
nature sanctuary by the government, and he wants to then donate
it to a Chilean foundation, which would manage it. It's an
altruistic plan, but it has stirred great controversy in Chile.

In a May press conference this year, Tompkins and his attorney,
accompanied by leaders of Chile's largest environmental groups,
presented information to counter a "harassment campaign" they
say is being waged by the government. Among the numerous false
accusations, they say, are rumors that Tompkins is pressuring
locals to sell their land, building a nuclear base, planning a
Jewish colony, developing a secret gold mine and financing
political opposition."
http://forests.org/archive/samerica/thinkbig.htm

In the link in the first post, the Palastinian woman says on her BLOG:

In Patagonia in Chile and Argentina you can see the IOF criminals piled everywhere, like heaps of garbage. In 2004 I saw the huge number of the Israeli troops spreading in the south of Chile. Some were carrying electronic equipment in their backpacks and under their T-shirts, as if they were on an official mission. I saw these Israeli criminals on ships, in the bus, on the streets of all towns and villages, at the coffee shops, in the restaurants, in hotels and … everywhere, right and left. Some of them identified me, and I also identified some of them who had been stationed in Hebron, but I kept my distance. I had to push away an Israeli officer who he tried to talk to me on a ship south of Villa O”Higgins, and the other tourists did the same as me; when we arrived at Candelario Mancilla, the officer told his commander about me. There were a group of Israeli officers and commanders waiting for him in Candelario Mancilla. They all were obviously in a military mission in Chile and not for tourism. This was my impression.

I have great sympathy for the plight of Palistinian civilians, and the awful oppression they have been subjected to for a half a century. However, I think it is entirely possible she might be a little paranoid, as I might be had I lived through what she claims to have. Every year, the first waves of young backpackers to hit Patagonia, are Israelis. In their backpacks on on their persons, they carry digital cameras, netbooks, and GPS' devices, IPOD, MP3 players, along with tents, sleeping bags and cooking utensils. We always give backpackers ride when we are out on the road, and recently hosted two young men who were on their year of travel throughout Argentina, Chile and other south American countries and beyond. They had just finished their two-year mandatory military service and were clearly enjoying being bums, meeting kids from other countries and looking forward to heading all the way south to Ushia before flying on to New Zealand. In Puerto Rio Tranquilo, we stayed in a hostel that was filled entirely with young Israeli backpackers, most all of the age that they would have just recently finished their military service.

That's my observations on the Israeli invasion of Patagonia. I've not seen actual military untis, equipment or uniformed soldiers in my travels. I suppose it is possible, but I would have to see something more than roving bands of goofy kids having a grand adventure. For a Palistinian civilian however, the wave of young Israeli travelers would seem intimidating.

Vicki, Thanks for the explanation. sounds very likely. Good to to have on the spot Allchile reporters!

Just my opinion Helen! If you visit the link in the first post and read through the blog, both the blogger's posts, and the comments, you will quickly realize how deep the [b]hatred[/b] runs on both sides. I haven't done any online research to see if I can find anything about joint Irael-Chile military exercises, or cooperations, but it is just my gut feeling based upon reading her blog and seeing droves of backpackers here, and in my recent travels south. I realize that many of these young people were most likely involved in Israel's recent military actions, however to hold them each responsible would be like blaming a returning US veteran for the civilian deaths in Afghanistan or Iraq, for the actions of our leadership. My opinion is that because it's Israel making military moves, does not mean it is necessarily a solely a Jewish attack on Gaza and Hebron.

The woman writing the blog is very angry, and possibly rightly so, but to label young Jewish backpackers as war criminals and to associate iPods and MP3 players with a covert Israeli military invasion is a little far fetched. The young Israeli kids we had over for a night had just finished their two-year mandatory service and wanted nothing more than to not shave, hang out, travel, skinny dip in Lago General, raft, eat all my food, make fun of old Israeli hardliners and the Hasidic Jews who they called "Penquins" (their word, not mine) and laugh all night long. I don't get the impression there is some covert mission. But..who knows.

Yes, lots of hatred there and a very sad situation. Chile has welcomed many immigrants from Palestine here in Chile. One of my neighbors father is from Palestine, immigrated many years ago. Really nice family. I did do a quick look online and don't really seen any heinous Israel-Chile connections other than the recent cargo price fixing scandals and Chile selling weapons to Israel many years ago under Pinochet.

Being the conspiracy minded type I am, I doubt you will read about any military technology transfer in the press as it definitely would be all black budget type stuff.

Some things that come to my warped mind: officially prohibited by the US missile delivery systems for the newly acquired F-16s and the old better to have it ready to come off the shelf components which when put together and unlocked by the benefactor make big boom.

I believe P has mentioned agro tech transfer in the past.

I use to backpack through the Mexico and Central America and would run in to way more Israeli x-military. They are not exactly secretive. I use to make a point (and most back packers would) to move on to another hostile if there was a group of them camped out at it. They where notorious for being really really loud as they would party until say 3 A.M., and then just like the military barracks wake up at dawn and start yelling at each other. A lot of the hostile owners in Central America simply refused to rent to them, unless there was sufficient number to fill their hostile completely.

I heard Abe Foxman was in Santiago recently. That worries me. I'd hate to see Chile taken advantage of by the ADL/JDL/SPLC/AIPAC guilt machine. As for Israeli soldiers in Chile, that is a bad sign.

Just another urban myth. Here in Arica you can find also lots of Israeli people backpacking because their government finances travel for them after they serve, I have met lot of those people and they have not "invassion" plans nor anything such, anyone who knows the basic of military knows that this idea is perposterous (o como se escriba).

Otherwise in cities like Arica and Punta Arenas, where there are the main of Chilean military power, there come to work regullary Israely technicians in training, maintenaince and installing weapon systems. Chilean military force has lot of weapons and logistic systems from Israel but the most of the Israelies you can see in north and south of Chile are plain backpackers, nothing else. Well this is just a more polite version of El Peulche words which I endores completly "a load of BULLSHIT"