Establishment of relations
Between the State of Israel and Argentina there have been good, strong and friendly bilateral relations since 1949. Argentina was the first country among Latin American countries to establish an embassy in Israel.
Between the two countries, common values and interests led and continue to lead to the signing of many agreements and memoranda of understanding in the fields of taxation, trade, education, culture and security.
There are regular visits between the countries and they also include high ranking visits. Such as, for example, the visit of the late President Peres to Argentina in 2009, the visit of President Alberto Fernandez to Israel in 2020 (on the occasion of the commemorative events to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp), the historic visit of Prime Minister Netanyahu to Latin America which began in Argentina in 2017, and the latest visit of the President of Argentina Javier Millay in February 2024.
Diplomatic relations between Argentina and Israel also knew ups and downs - a crisis between the relations following the Eichmann affair (1960) and the attacks that took place in the country against the Israeli embassy (1992) and against the AMIA Jewish community building (1994).
The following timeline illustrates important events, visits by senior officials and signings of various agreements between the countries from then until today:
On June 11, 1949, Mr. Jacob Tzur was appointed as the first official Diplomatic Envoy on behalf of the state of Israel to Argentina
On August 1, Jacob Zur, Israel's first ambassador to Argentina, was received at the Casa Rosada by the President of the Republic, Juan Domingo Peron
Golda Meir visited the Embassy of Israel in Argentina
David Ben Gurión, former Prime Minister, visited the embassy of Israel in Buenos Aires
Crisis following the Eichmann affair
Former President Chaim Herzog's visit to Argentina
Former Argentine President Carlos Menem visited Israel
On March 17, 1992, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires was destroyed by a car bomb. In the attack, 29 people were murdered and over 200 were injured, including bystanders, including a Catholic priest from the church across the street.
On July 18, 1994, a deadly attack took place against the Jewish community center, AMIA. In this attack, 85 people died and over 300 were injured. To this day, no one has been convicted in connection with the attacks.
MERCOSUR and Israel signed a framework agreement to achieve a trade deal.
An agricultural cooperation agreement was signed
The free trade agreement between Argentina and other MERCOSUR countries and Israel was signed
The visit of the late former President Shimon Peres and former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to Argentina
The Free Trade Agreement entry into force.
Israel and Argentina 09/09/2011. For the remaining signatories, the entry into force was on 12/23/2009 with Uruguay, 03/24/2010 with Paraguay, and 04/03/2010 with Brazil.
An agreement was signed for cooperation in the field of cinema
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's historic visit to Latin America, which began in Argentina.
The Argentinian National Parliament defined March 17 as "the day of solidarity with the victims of the terrorist attack at the Israeli Embassy" and was approved by the Senate. Also, the Federal Minister of Education signed an order instructing the provinces to include the subject in the curriculum.
A scientific cooperation agreement was signed
Former Argentine President Alberto Fernandez visited Israel on the occasion of the events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp
Renewal of the education and culture agreement in front of the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Visit of Interior Minister Eduardo de Pedro, other ministers and district governors to Israel
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen's visit to Argentina
A social insurance agreement was signed between the countries
Visit of the Argentinian president, Javier Milei, and the foreign minister, Diana Mondino, to Israel. During his visit, President Milei announced that he supports Israel in its fight against Hamas terrorism, that Israel has the right to self-defense, called for the release of all the hostages from Gaza, and that he intends to move the embassy of Argentina in Israel to West Jerusalem.