A proactive approach to Latin America antisemitism after October 7 - opinion

Following Hamas’s barbaric massacre on October 7, Colombia, Chile, and Honduras recalled their ambassadors from Israel. Bolivia and Belize cut ties entirely. Brazil’s president compared Israel’s prime minister to Hitler, and Mexico endorsed the International Criminal Court’s preposterous claims against him.

However, diplomatic altercations should not steer us away from the region; on the contrary.

Since becoming speaker of the Knesset, I have sought to open a new front in the war for Israel’s global name and reputation – parliamentary diplomacy. By engaging dozens of my counterparts throughout the world, I have made it my aim to advocate for Israel in the foremost centers of national power and governance, the palaces of parliament.

A true friend and defender of Israel, Paraguay’s House of Deputies President Raúl Latorre is one such notable legislative leader.

The first senior official from Latin America to make a solidarity visit to Israel after October 7, Latorre joined me on a painful pilgrimage to Kibbutz Kfar Aza, an epicenter of the slaughter on October 7. 

Shortly thereafter, he sent me an invitation to be the first Knesset speaker to visit Paraguay – and the first to address a Latin American parliament since my earliest predecessor, Yosef Sprinzak, visited Argentina in 1950.

While in Asuncion, we inaugurated Israel’s new embassy and met with President Santiago Peña, a stalwart of Israel. From there, we continue to Argentina to meet with another of our greatest allies, President Javier Milei, and several of his senior ministers and lay a wreath at the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, where terrorists brutally murdered 85 innocents at Iran’s command.

Israel’s strained relations in the region only underscore the importance of this visit. For Israel and the Jewish people, Latin America is pivotal.

Hundreds of thousands of Jews live in the region, and Argentina alone is home to the world’s seventh-largest Jewish community. And wherever anti-Israel sentiment infiltrates the halls of power, antisemitism quickly follows on the streets. 

Attacks in Brazil against Jews explode after October 7 

Since the October 7 atrocities, attacks against Jews exploded by nearly 1,000% in Brazil. Antisemites targeted a prominent Jewish journalist in Peru and vandalized Jewish cemeteries in Nicaragua. A former president of Mexico accused his successor of being “a Jew and foreigner.”

Notwithstanding present tensions, Latin America has a long legacy of friendship with Israel.

Thirteen Latin American powers voted for the UN resolution paving the path to Israel’s creation in 1947. At the time, Latin American countries comprised about 20% of UN member states, but nearly 40% of those who voted for Jewish statehood. 

Latin American powers remained friendly with Israel even after the Yom Kippur War, despite immense pressure from the Arab world.

Latin America’s kinship with Israel should be well understood. We share so many values, from community and family to liberty and democracy. We have similar national stories, having wrested independence from powers larger than ourselves.

Israel’s terrorist enemies are the antithesis of everything we and the whole free world believe.

Diplomatically, the path may be fraught with difficulty. But this visit to the region should inspire hope.

Israel and the Jewish people faced some of our darkest hours in Paraguay and Argentina. In 1970, PLO terrorists stormed Israel’s embassy in Asuncion, murdering Edna Peer, the first Israeli diplomat slain overseas. 

In 1992, an Iran-backed suicide bomber slammed a pickup truck loaded with explosives into Israel’s Embassy in Buenos Aires, murdering 29. In 1994, the AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires would mark the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust – until October 7.

And yet, precisely where we struggled, we also succeeded. Paraguay and Argentina are now champions of Israel on the world stage. It is they who have invited me, as the representative of the Knesset and the people of Israel, to rally support for Israel and our righteous war to bring every single hostage home.

Paraguay and Argentina, besides being Israel’s best friends in Latin America, are among our closest allies in the world.

Facing adversity, we cannot retreat but must press forward. We need to boldly make the case for Israel and fearlessly face down Israel’s harshest critics, especially in their own backyard. 

The writer is speaker of the Knesset.