Photo: Israel Allies Foundation
Venezuelan opposition member calls for strengthening ties with Israel; Argentinian congressman says government confirmation of Nisman assassination could free country from Iranian influence
Lawmakers from 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries signed a resolution affirming their support for Israel and calling for fighting boycotts, a document obtained by the Jerusalem Post Thursday confirmed.
The parliamentarians met at the Israel Allies Foundation’s Second Annual Latin America Summit on Israel which took place in Miami last week. Attending were MK Michael Oren (Kulanu) and US congressmen Ed Royce (R-CA) and Eliot Engel (D-NY), chairman and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Israel Allies Foundation, founded by former minister Rabbi Binyamin Elon, works with parliaments around the world to mobilize political support for an Israel based on Judeo-Christian values.
The resolution the Latin American lawmakers signed states in Spanish they “unequivocally declare, personally, our support for the Jewish people to live in peace, safety and security in the Land of Israel” and “strong relations between the Western Hemisphere and Israel are crucial to the spread of freedom, democracy and justice around the world.”
The legislators encouraged their governments to increase efforts to strengthen ties with Israel.
“Boycotts and sanctions against the State of Israel and its products contribute to an anti-Semitic attitude inspired by anti-Semitism and opposition to the Jewish State [and] are detrimental to a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and must be rejected by all actors who seek peace,” the resolution states.
It also says “the eventual existence of countries with nuclear weapons in the Middle East poses an existential threat to Israel and to peace around the world.”
Oren, keynote speaker at the event, said Israel should relate to South American countries as it does with superpowers, in order to realize the “full potential and diplomatic and economic opportunities [these countries] present.”
“South America is a huge continent with economic and diplomatic influence,” he stated.
Congressman Julio Borges, head of opposition in the Venezuelan National Assembly, said it is unfortunate in the last decade his country’s support for Israel has declined.
“It’s critical we reverse the trend and strengthen our relationship,” he said.
Minister Ruperto Long of Uruguay, a longtime advocate for strong Israeli-Latin American relations, pointed out that his country was the first in Latin America to have an Israeli embassy.
“Jewish people have played a very important role in Uruguay for more than a century, and we need to honor that tradition. It is unbelievable that after more than three thousand years the Jewish people have not been allowed to have their own country where they can live in peace. For me, this is an essential human rights issue to fix,” he said.
IAF Executive Director EJ Kimball said attendees were enthusiastic about strengthening their countries’ ties with Israel.
“We’re impressed with the seniority of parliamentarians that attended our 2016 Summit and the level of discussions we had,” IAF Latin America Coordinator Leopoldo Martínez added.
The group also discussed the assassination of Argentinian attorney general Alberto Nisman last year. Argentinian congressman Waldo Wolff, former vice president of the Argentinian Jewish community’s umbrella organization, addressed the lawmakers on that topic, and on the prevailing mood in Argentina.
Several days before the summit the Argentinian Government confirmed Nisman’s death was an assassination, contrary to the prior Government’s position it was the result of suicide, paving the way for a deeper look at Iran’s connection to the assassination. Nisman was getting ready to charge Argentina’s then-president Cristina Fernandez Kirchner with trying to cover up Iran’s role in the 1994 bombing of the Jewish Community Center (AMIA) in Buenos Aires.
Wolff said the revelation could mean greater independence for Argentina and other Latin American countries from Iranian influence.
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