(JNS) Argentinian President Javier Milei is hosting a gathering of Latin American legislators in Buenos Aires this week, seeking to strengthen continental ties with Israel as envisioned in the Isaac Accords.
The event comes amid a shift across Latin America, where a right-wing wave is reshaping alliances with the United States and Israel.
The three-day conference, which is being run by the Washington, DC-based Israel Allies Foundation in partnership with the American Friends of Isaac Accords, a nonprofit of the Genesis Prize Foundation, will be attended by the pro-Israel Brazilian presidential front-runner, Flavio Bolsonaro, and some 20 lawmakers from more than a dozen countries.
The Isaac Accords, launched by the Argentine and Israeli leaders in Jerusalem earlier this year, is a diplomatic initiative aimed at improving relations between Israel and Latin American countries, modeled on the 2020 Abraham Accords brokered by the US with Israel and four Arab nations.
“The basic initiative of the Isaac Accords is that Argentina should serve as the driving force for all the countries in the region, committed to freedom, liberty and democracy, and uniting them in the global fight against terrorism and antisemitism led by the United States and Israel,” Argentinian Ambassador to Israel Axel Wahnish told JNS.
Milei has broken with decades of Argentinian foreign policy and changed Latin American history since entering office in December 2023 by becoming one of Israel’s strongest supporters in the world.
The Argentine leader became the first non-Jewish head of state to receive the Genesis Prize last year in recognition of his support for Israel. He donated the $1 million award to launch the Isaac Accords initiative.
“Argentina is a steadfast ally of the State of Israel at this critical moment, and our two nations share fundamental values such as democracy, freedom and pluralism,” said Argentinian deputy Sabrina Ajmechet, who serves as co-chair of the Israel Allies Caucus in parliament.
“When the chairmen of Latin American Israel Allies Caucuses come together in Argentina, the country that conceived the Isaac Accords, they are not attending a conference; they are making a statement,” said Ambassador S. Fitzgerald Haney, the American Friends of Isaac Accords managing director for Latin America. “Israel’s long-term security and its place in the world are built relationship by relationship, legislature by legislature, friendship by friendship. Latin America is stepping up, and we are proud to be part of it.”
The event will advance the adoption of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, strengthen legislative responses to terrorism and extremism, and foster coordinated action throughout Latin America.
“This conference is a powerful testament to the extraordinary parliamentary support for Israel that exists throughout Latin America,” said Leopoldo Martínez, Latin America director of the Israel Allies Foundation, which spearheads faith-based diplomacy in scores of parliaments around the world. “The legislators gathered here are shaping a new chapter in the relationship between Israel and Latin America, founded on our shared Judeo-Christian values and our common commitment to democracy, freedom and peace.”
“This is a defining moment in time as we call on courageous parliamentarians across the region to fully embrace the Isaac Accords and take the historic step of moving their nations’ embassies to Jerusalem, Israel’s undivided capital,” said Josh Reinstein, president of the Israel Allies Foundation. “By strengthening its partnership with Israel, Latin America is choosing moral clarity based on shared Judeo-Christian values, and a future of security, prosperity and divine blessing for all our nations.”
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