President be tried at the International Criminal Court. Venezuela expelled Israel's ambassador to Venezuela and part of the embassy personnel, and Hugo Chávez called for Ehud Olmert to be tried for war crimes. On January 14, Chávez broke off diplomatic ties and expelled the Israeli ambassador and his staff after the 2008-09 Gaza War which left around 1,200 Palestinians dead and over 5000 wounded. The Israeli government retaliated by expelling Venezuelan diplomats from the country. On April 27, 2009, Venezuela officially recognised the existence of the State of Palestine. In April 2009, Israel selected Canada as its protecting power in Venezuela. In September 2009, Venezuela's Foreign Ministry appointed Spain to be its protecting power in Israel. 2010 At a rally in June 2010, Chávez alleged that “Israel is financing the Venezuelan opposition. There are even groups of Israeli terrorists, of the Mossad, who are after me trying to kill me.” In response, AJC Executive Director David Harris stated that: “These baseless accusations by President Chávez are downright dangerous and are used by him to bolster his own political standing.” In the same speech, Chávez called Israel a "terrorist and murderous state", and cursed it by saying: "I take this opportunity to condemn again from the bottom of my soul and my guts the State of Israel: Cursed be, State of Israel! Cursed is cursed, terrorists and assassins!". During a visit by Syrian President Bashar Assad to Venezuela in June 2010, Chávez accused Israel of being "the assassin arm of the United States" and that "one day the genocidal state of Israel will be put into its place." 2017 In March 2017, President Nicolás Maduro announced a "desire" to re-establish relations with Israel following a meeting with Venezuela's Sephardic chief rabbi Isaac Cohen. 2019 On January 27, 2019, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recognized the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, as interim president of Venezuela. Later that year in August 2019, Guaido appointed Rabbi Pynchas Brener as the new ambassador to Israel. See also History of the Jews in Venezuela List of Venezuelan Jews Foreign policy of Hugo Chávez International recognition of Israel Notes Venezuela Bilateral relations of Venezuela Jewish Venezuelan history