Why the world thinks Argentina is on Israel’s side in Gaza war

Usually, when international newspapers and media mention Argentina, it is probably because of sports achievements related to football, or especially to the first star, Lionel Messi. Argentina is also known for its tango, meat and beautiful landscapes. But on the other hand, Argentina has a bad reputation, especially in recent years. Due to the high inflation rate, which puts it in the top five in the global ranking. Unfortunately, Argentina is also notorious for corruption.
Argentina has been mentioned several times in the international media over the past few months, but this time it is because of the striking political appearances of the current president, Javier Mili, and in particular his strong support for Israel and opposition to the Palestinian side since the founding of the country. The war in the Gaza Strip, the most recent manifestation of which was the announcement by the Argentine president on July 12, 2024 that Hamas would be listed as an “international terrorist organization” and condemned Hamas’s links with Iran. With this, Argentina became the first country in Latin America to take this step. This contradicts the position of most countries on the African continent. For example, Bolivia and Colombia broke off relations with Israel, and other Latin countries withdrew their ambassadors from Tel Aviv.
• • •
Before becoming the president of Argentina, Milley, despite being a Catholic, always declared that he admired the Jews and their teachings, to the point that he read the Torah every day. In late 2021, Milley, then a congressman, said: “I am not Jewish, but I admire Israel and have a deep respect for it. “I am Catholic, but every day I kneel before the Jews.” Also at that time, Milley expressed his support for the West and its values, and mentioned the United States and Israel as potential allies. In addition, Milley promised to move the Argentine embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
In December 2023, the far-right Milley was elected President of Argentina with the most votes of 56% of male and female voters after defeating Sergio Massa in the runoff on November 19. A few days before taking office as president, Milley met with then-Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and a group of relatives of hostages kidnapped by Hamas who arrived from Tel Aviv to attend the inauguration of the Argentine president. Milley then officially announced his condemnation of the Hamas attack and said that Hamas would be included in the list of terrorist organizations, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which Argentina believes is responsible for the attacks on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and the Amiya Jewish Center in 1992 and 1994 respectively.
Three weeks after taking office, in January 2024, Milley attended the International Holocaust Remembrance Day celebrations in Buenos Aires. The Argentine president said Argentina “will not remain silent in the face of the Hamas movement” and demanded the immediate release of all kidnapped civilians, including eight Argentines.
On February 7, Milley became the first Latin American leader to travel to Israel after the October 7 attacks; he traveled to Tel Aviv on a commercial flight and was received by Israel’s foreign minister. Once there, Milley stressed his commitment to “strengthening friendship, diplomatic and trade relations with Israel.” During his visit, Milley, accompanied by Israeli President Herzog, toured facilities in the settlement of Nir Oz. He stated that the hostage-taking that took place constituted “a crime against humanity and must be stopped.” While in Israel, Milley also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stated that Israel was very grateful for Argentina’s strong support for Israel and “very happy with his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and his willingness to move his diplomatic mission and the Argentine embassy there.” Milley stated that he had made the political decision to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and that his foreign minister, Diana Mondino, would continue to prepare a decree regarding the decision.
Hamas immediately issued a statement condemning Milley’s visit to Israel and expressed regret for losing an ally like Argentina. Hamas also announced that it “strongly condemned” the new Argentine government’s plan to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, believing that this “violated the rights of the Palestinian people to their land and violated the provisions of international law that Jerusalem is occupied Palestinian land.”
Later in March 2024, Milley reiterated his unconditional support for Israel and its attacks on the Gaza Strip in an interview with CNN. The Argentine president said: “Israel has been subjected to brutal attacks, and such events require an ideal response. In fact, everything Israel did was within the rules of the game. Although Hamas committed crimes, Israel did not commit any crimes… And one of the things I did from the beginning was to abandon the attacks organized by Hamas and support Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense.”

On May 10, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, Argentina voted against a project promoted by Arab countries to support Palestine’s application for full membership of the United Nations and recommended that the Security Council actively reconsider the application. This was the first time Argentina voted against Palestine at the United Nations, breaking the tradition of successive Argentine governments supporting the Palestinian people at UN plenary sessions.
Argentina voted against the countries supporting the Palestinian position together with nine minority countries (Argentina, Israel, the United States, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Papua New Guinea). Although the vote was mostly in favor of the Palestinian side; the proposal is not binding; therefore, the Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas has not been accepted as a full member of the United Nations. The final decision on this issue is made by the UN Security Council. The United States uses its veto power to prevent Palestinian integration, as happened in mid-April.
Subsequently, on May 31, the United States proposed a ceasefire plan to both sides, which included the exchange of prisoners and hostages, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the most densely populated areas of Gaza, and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Argentina and 16 other countries called on Hamas to accept the ceasefire plan proposed by the United States. As we mentioned before, Milley has repeatedly stated that Israel has the right to defend itself after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, but this is his first call for a ceasefire.
Last June, Argentina’s president faced a wave of criticism from Arab and Islamic countries after he boycotted a meeting of the Arab and Islamic bloc’s Council of Ambassadors in the capital Buenos Aires, under the pretext that a Palestinian representative, represented by Foreign Minister Mondino, would attend the meeting. The Arab League described Milley’s move as “hostile and unjust.”
Later, on July 12, 2024, Milley designated Hamas a “terrorist organization” and ordered a freeze on its financial assets, saying he was “firmly committed to classifying terrorists as such.” On July 17, Argentina’s president likened Hamas’s attacks on Israel to the 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires, calling on the movement to release all hostages it was holding.

• • •
In summary, the Milley administration’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been very clear from the beginning, with strong support for Israel and firm condemnation of Hamas, which is likely to continue. But more than nine months after the end of the Gaza war, support for an immediate ceasefire has also been put on the Argentine government’s agenda, which, while not changing its position, sends a strong message to Israeli leaders. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how the relationship between Israel and Argentina will be strengthened or maintained if the Gaza conflict does not end and if the international community continues to exert pressure for a ceasefire.

Santiago Villar
Center for Advanced Future Studies
original:
https://bit.ly/3ykbOaB