 | |
 Argentina |  Israel |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Argentine Embassy, Tel Aviv | Israeli Embassy, Buenos Aires |
| Envoy | |
| AmbassadorAxel Wahnish[1] | AmbassadorEyal Sela[2] |
Argentina–Israel relations are the historical and bilateral relations between theArgentine Republic and theState of Israel began shortly after theIsraeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, with the countries establishing diplomatic relations on 31 May 1949. Both are members of theWorld Trade Organization and theUnited Nations.
The countries established diplomatic relations on 31 May 1949.[3]
Relations between the two were tied during the early years ofNazi hunting when Israel'sMossadkidnapped formerNaziAdolf Eichmann despite Argentine protestations of a violation of its sovereignty. Immediately afterWorld War II, Argentina was a safe haven for former Nazi officials because they brought badly needed capital investment and/or technical expertise.[citation needed]
According to declassifiedBritish Foreign and Commonwealth Office documents, Israel sold arms to Argentina before and during theFalklands War in 1982. The arms sales to Argentina includedDouglas A-4 Skyhawk jets, which would later be used in the war with theUnited Kingdom.[4]
Carlos Menem was the first head of state of Argentina to make a diplomatic visit to Israel, in 1991. He proposed to mediate between Israel andSyria in their negotiations over theGolan Heights.[5] However, the relations were further tested whenHezbollah was blamed forbombing theIsraeli embassy and aJewish community centre in 1992 and 1994, respectively. Since 2013, roughly 100 Jewish organisations across Argentina have called for the government to repeal its pact with theIslamic Republic of Iran over the AMIA terrorist attacks.[6][7]
While Argentina has the largest Jewish population inLatin America, there have been various cases ofanti-Semitism in Argentina,[8][9] such as the desecration of 58 Jewish graves inLa Tablada by unknown peoples in 2009,[10] mostly due to negativestereotypes of Jews controlling business interests and dominating the world through capitalism, as well as Israel's affiliation with the United States.[11][12][13]
In 2010, Argentina announced the intention to joinBrazil inrecognising an independent Palestinian state, provoking sharp criticism from Israel.[14] On 6 December 2010, Argentina subsequently recognised theState of Palestine on the borders of 4 June 1967 (i.e., theWest Bank,Gaza andEast Jerusalem), which constituted Arab territory prior to theSix-Day War.[15] In 2012, Argentine PresidentCristina Fernández de Kirchner met an Israeli-Palestinian delegation and announced that Argentina would spearhead the Latin American role in reinvigorating the peace process in theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict.[14]
In September 2017, Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu paid an official visit to Argentina, becoming the first Israeli Prime Minister in office to visit Argentina and Latin America.[16]
In March 2019, two Iranian citizens used fake Israeli passports to leaveSpain and different fake Israeli passports to enter Argentina. Realising that the passports were fraudulent, Argentinian police arrested the suspects. Argentinian prosecutors discovered that the suspects had previously used fake passports to enter other countries, includingPortugal.[17]
In January 2020, PresidentAlberto Fernández travelled to Israel for his first presidential trip abroad. There he paid respects to the victims of theHolocaust and maintained a bilateral meeting with Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu who thanked him for keepingHezbollah branded as a terrorist organisation, a measure taken by Fernández's predecessorMauricio Macri.[18][19]
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In the aftermath of the2023 Argentine general election andJavier Milei's victory, President-elect Milei pledged to move the Argentine Embassy fromTel Aviv toJerusalem,[20][21] and announced as part of "a spiritual trip" alongside rabbis he studies with, Milei would visit theWestern Wall and Israel before his inauguration on 10 December 2023.[22][23] In December 2023, President Javier Milei announced that his government is working on designatingHamas as a terrorist organization.[24] In February 2024, Argentinian President Javier Milei visited Israel, making Israel his first bilateral overseas destination as president.[25] In May 2024, President Javier Milei's government broke with Argentina's previous position on Palestine, voting against recognition of Palestinian statehood at United Nations. The vote was in line with the country’s pro-Israel shift in its foreign policy.[26]
In June 2025, Milei reaffirmed his pledge to move the embassy to Jerusalem,[27] and El Al announced plans to launch direct passenger flights between the two countries.[28]
In August 2025, theIsaac Accords, which are modeled on the 2020Abraham Accords, were officially announced. The Isaac Accords are a diplomatic initiative inspired by Argentine PresidentJavier Milei's receipt of theGenesis Prize that aims to strengthen political, economic, and cultural cooperation between Israel and various Latin American countries, starting with Uruguay, Panama, and Costa Rica. The nonprofit organization American Friends of the Isaac Accords (AFOIA) was also launched in the same month. The organization was established with an initial US$1 million from the Genesis Prize Foundation, in honor of Milei's acceptance of the Genesis Prize in Jerusalem on June 12, 2025.[29][30]
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