Reuters.com: Wiesenthal Center slams Chavez 'anti-Semitic' talk

Prominent Jewish rights group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday of using what it said were anti-Semitic remarks and demanded an apology. In a televised Christmas Eve speech, Chavez, a left-winger and a former soldier, said that 'minorities, descendants of those who crucified Christ ... have grabbed all the wealth of the world for themselves.' Chavez, a Catholic, did not mention the Jewish people and in the same comments referred to the betrayal of Venezuelan liberation hero Simon Bolivar. But the group said his remarks represented central arguments of anti-Semitism -- accusing the Jews of killing Jesus Christ and associating them with wealth. 'Both elements have served as a perfect excuse to justify the most cruel persecution and killing during two millenniums,' the Wiesenthal center said in a statement.