At a rally in June 2010, Chavez 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 Chavez are downright dangerous and are used by him to bolster his own political standing.” In the same speech, Chavez 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, Chavez 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.
