The countries established diplomatic relations on 31 May 1949.[3]
Relations between the two were tied during the early years of Nazi hunting when Israel's Mossadkidnapped former NaziAdolf Eichmann despite Argentine protestations of a violation of its sovereignty. Immediately after World War II, Argentina was a safe haven for former Nazi officials because they brought badly needed capital investment and/or technical expertise.[citation needed]
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 and Syria in their negotiations over the Golan Heights.[5] However, the relations were further tested when Hezbollah was blamed for bombing the Israeli embassy and a Jewish 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 the Islamic Republic of Iran over the AMIA terrorist attacks.[6][7]
21st century
While Argentina has the largest Jewish population in Latin America, there have been various cases of anti-Semitism in Argentina,[8][9][10] such as the desecration of 58 Jewish graves in La Tablada by unknown peoples in 2009,[11] mostly due to negative stereotypes of Jews controlling business interests and dominating the world through capitalism, as well as Israel's affiliation with the United States.[12][13][14]
In September 2017, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid an official visit to Argentina, becoming the first Israeli Prime Minister in office to visit Argentina and Latin America.[17]
In March 2019, two Iranian citizens used fake Israeli passports to leave Spain 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, including Portugal.[18]
In January 2020, President Alberto Fernández travelled to Israel for his first presidential trip abroad. There he paid respects to the victims of the Holocaust and maintained a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who thanked him for keeping Hezbollah branded as a terrorist organisation, a measure taken by Fernández's predecessor Mauricio Macri.[19][20]
President Javier Milei and Israeli President Isaac Herzog shake hands in Beit HaNassi in Jerusalem on 6 February 2024
In the aftermath of the 2023 Argentine general election and Javier Milei's victory, President-elect Milei pledged to move the Argentine Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,[21][22] and announced as part of "a spiritual trip" alongside rabbis he studies with, Milei would visit the Western Wall and Israel before his inauguration on 10 December 2023.[23][24] In December 2023, President Javier Milei announced that his government is working on designating Hamas as a terrorist organization.[25] In February 2024, Argentinian President Javier Milei visited Israel, making Israel his first bilateral overseas destination as president.[26] In May 2024, President Javier Milei's government broke with Argentina’s previous position on Palestine, voting against recognition of Palestinian state at United Nations. The vote was in line with the country’s pro-Israel shift in its foreign policy.[27]
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