President Javier Milei of Argentina has proposed a new $1m initiative to strengthen relations between Latin America and Israel, ahead of an anticipated visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Monday, the Genesis Prize Foundation — a group that offers an annual award to members of the Jewish community — announced that Milei, its most recent winner, would use his prize money to launch a new nonprofit, the American Friends of the Isaac Accords (AFOIA).
“AFOIA is a vehicle to promote Milei’s bold vision and encourage other Latin American leaders to stand with Israel, confront antisemitism, and reject the ideologies of terror that threaten our shared values and freedoms,” Genesis Prize co-founder Stan Polovets said in a news release.
The statement explained that the new nonprofit was inspired, in part, by efforts under United States President Donald Trump to normalise relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
During Trump’s first term, from 2017 to 2021, countries like Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in a series of deals known as the Abraham Accords.
Milei’s efforts, meanwhile, come as Israel faces growing condemnation in Latin America over its war in Gaza, which United Nations experts have compared to a genocide.
Countries like Colombia and Bolivia have severed diplomatic ties with Israel since the start of the war in 2023, and Brazil recently became the latest nation to join a case against Israel brought by South Africa before the International Court of Justice.
“The Isaac Accords aim to mirror the success of the Abraham Accords by fostering diplomatic, economic, and cultural cooperation between Israel and key Latin American nations,” the news release said.
Pushing against a regional trend
The nonprofit will initially focus its efforts on three Latin American countries: Uruguay, Panama and Costa Rica. The news release credits regional analysts as saying those countries are “primed for enhanced cooperation with Israel”.
“These nations stand to benefit significantly from Israeli expertise in water technology, agriculture, cyber defense, fintech, healthcare, and energy,” it said.
But the Isaac Accords nonprofit ultimately aims to expand its mission to Brazil, Colombia, Chile and potentially El Salvador by 2026.
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, applauded the establishment of the nonprofit and praised Milei as “setting an example for his neighbors in the region”.
But he acknowledged that several high-profile Latin American leaders have spoken out against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
“Given the hostility toward the Jewish state from some nations in the region, support of Israel by Latin American countries which are now on the sidelines is very important,” Danon said in the release.
Top leaders like Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have forcefully denounced the human rights abuses unfolding in Gaza, where more than 61,500 Palestinians have been killed and many risk perishing from hunger.
The enclave is under an Israeli blockade that restricts the amount of food, water and essential supplies reaching residents. Last month, the UN warned of “mounting evidence of famine” and “catastrophic hunger” in Gaza.
“We cannot remain indifferent to the genocide carried out by Israel in Gaza, the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians and the use of hunger as a weapon of war,” Brazil’s President Lula told the BRICS economic alliance in July.
Milei embraces Israel
But while left-wing Latin American leaders like Lula take steps to distance themselves from Israel, Milei, a libertarian, has taken the opposite approach.
In June, for example, Milei confirmed his intention to move Argentina’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by 2026, despite conflicting Israeli and Palestinian claims on the city. Trump made a similar decision in 2018.
Milei has also praised Israel for its human rights record, including in a social media post this past May honouring the 77th anniversary of its establishment in 1948, which resulted in the mass displacement of Palestinians.
“I congratulate the State of Israel on its short but glorious 77 years of existence,” the Argentinian president wrote. “Like Argentina, Israel is a beacon of FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY.”
Milei, a Catholic, has even expressed interest in converting to Judaism, which would be a first for an Argentinian president.
His selection as the 2025 Genesis Prize winner is considered a first for a non-Jewish person, and it is tradition for winners to give the cash award to a cause they support.
But Milei’s pro-Israel stance has prompted public backlash in Argentina. On Saturday, thousands of protesters flooded the streets of the capital Buenos Aires to condemn Israeli actions in Gaza.
“We not only demand the opening of borders and the entry of humanitarian aid: We support the fight for a #FreePalestine. Zionism is not Judaism,” one group involved in the protests, JudiesXPalestina, posted on social media.
A test for the International Criminal Court
Many demonstrators also voiced opposition to reports that Netanyahu would visit Argentina in the coming weeks.
The Israeli prime minister’s arrival would test Argentina’s commitment to the International Criminal Court (ICC), of which it is a member.
In 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, on the basis that there are reasonable grounds to believe they had overseen war crimes in Gaza.
The ICC, however, relies on member countries to carry out such arrests. Argentina’s decision to welcome Netanyahu may therefore be seen as a rebuke to the court’s authority, further weakening its power.
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