VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSG #1043 3331947
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 281947Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4003
INFO RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 0039
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0406

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 001043 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR IO/UNP ANDREW MORRISON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNGA IS PA CI
SUBJECT: CHILE: NO CHANGES LIKELY IN ISRAEL/PALESTINE UNGA 
VOTES 
 
REF: A. STATE 123081 
     ¶B. SANTIAGO 996 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Poloff delivered ref A demarche Nov. 24 to Patricio 
Powell, Acting Head of the MFA's Multilateral Affairs 
Department.  Powell promised to examine the issue closely and 
to forward the points to the MFA's Middle East desk and the 
Chilean Mission to the UN.  However, Powell held out no hope 
of changing Chile's votes--even from a "yes" to an 
abstention.  Powell noted that Chile's support for the three 
institutions in question is well-established Chilean policy. 
Decisions about Chile's position on these sensitive issues 
have been made by the Foreign Minister and the President, 
Powell noted, and there were no political grounds for a 
change now.  (Note:  Ref B includes a recent CODEL's 
discussion with President Bachelet on this topic.  End Note.) 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Powell emphasized that Chile always endeavors to 
support a balanced approach to these contentious Middle East 
issues, and will take the same approach with upcoming UN 
meetings to be held in Santiago.  The Committee on the 
Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People 
is meeting in Santiago Dec. 11-13, in conjunction with 
meetings of the UN Latin American and Caribbean Meeting in 
Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace.  Powell said that the 
Chilean government has been very purposeful in avoiding 
one-sided anti-Israel meetings.  The meeting is being 
organized by the UN, not the Chilean government, but to the 
extent that the Chilean government has been able to provide 
input, it has suggested pro-Israeli voices as well. 
Prominent invited guests include former British Prime 
Minister Tony Blair; Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of 
Jerusalem; Barry Chazan, a well-known Jewish educator; Riyad 
al-Malki, the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Palestinian 
National Authority; PLO Negotiations Affairs Department; 
Palestinian Delegation to France; and the Toledo Center for 
Peace.  The Government of Israel does not participate in 
these meetings. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Chile is home to substantial Jewish and Palestinian 
communities, Powell noted, and so must take their views into 
account just as the U.S. does when making its foreign policy. 
 (Note:  Five percent of Palestinians living outside the 
Middle East live in Chile.  Most of these 
Palestinian-Chileans are Christians whose ancestors arrived 
between 1900 and 1930 and now live in the northern town of 
Iquique.  More recently, the government has agreed to receive 
Palestinian refugees under a plan coordinated with the 
Catholic Church and the UN.  In addition, there are 10,000 to 
17,000 Jews in Chile, 95% of whom live in Santiago.  They 
tend to be well-integrated into Chilean society, firmly 
pro-Israeli, and many are politically or socially prominent. 
End Note.) 
SIMONS