On April 19, Israel and Argentina issued a joint declaration, a new “covenant of Judeo-Christian nations.”
Formally named for Abraham’s son, the Isaac Accords aim to reflect continuity. Background documents explain that just as Isaac “carried forward Abraham’s legacy,” so the Isaac Accords “seek to build upon the legacy of the Abraham Accords and to expand Israel’s relationships with a new set of global partners.”
Signing for Argentina was its president, Javier Milei, who had just arrived in Israel for a historic visit.
In addition to the signing ceremony, he would open the Argentinian embassy in Jerusalem, become the first foreign leader to light a torch on Israel’s Independence Day, and receive the Presidential Medal of Honor from the hands of President Isaac Herzog.
Milei devised the Isaac Accords concept. His idea was to create a diplomatic, economic, and cultural framework, explicitly modeled on the Abraham Accords, but designed to expand and deepen cooperation between Latin American countries and Israel.
Much diplomatic effort was expended in bringing together a foundation group of Latin American states – Argentina, Uruguay, Panama, and Costa Rica – keen to develop joint projects with Israel in agriculture, cyber, finance, water, energy, and health.
Uruguay, Panama, and Costa Rica are partners in the Isaac Accords initiative, but not co-signatories. They will be the first target states for Accords funding, aimed at developing projects in trade, technology, security, and public diplomacy.
A new ally
Juan Javier Milei, born in 1970, is a professional economist who, in 2015, became widely known in Argentina as a television and radio pundit. His views were libertarian. He used to advocate minimal state intervention, dramatic cuts in government spending, and the abolition of Argentina’s central bank.
In 2023, Milei ran for president on a platform of economic shock therapy and sweeping pro-market reforms.
He entered office in December 2023, instantly instituting labor and fiscal reforms aimed at reducing inflation and state regulation.
At the time of his inauguration, Argentina’s annual inflation was above 200%. By March 2026, the year-on-year inflation rate had fallen to 32.6%, and most mainstream analyses now describe Argentina as being on the road to recovery.
Milei’s equally dynamic foreign policy stance reflects his profound pro-Israel convictions.
Historically, Argentina has taken a comparatively neutral position on Middle East issues, although in 2010 it did vote to recognize a State of Palestine. Since taking office, Milei has shifted the nation’s foreign policy toward close alignment with the US and Israel.
He has declared Hamas a terrorist organization, recommended that the UN Security Council reconsider Palestinian UN membership, and decided to move Argentina’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Milei has openly discussed his personal affinity for Judaism, and he undertakes regular study of the Torah with a rabbi.
Declaring his admiration for Jewish history, resilience, and philosophical values, he is recorded as saying that he intends to convert to Judaism after leaving office. He has only refrained from doing so, he has said, because he would find Shabbat observance incompatible with presidential duties.
Strategic alignment
In 2025, Milei became the first non-Jewish head of state to be awarded Israel’s Genesis Prize, unofficially known as the “Jewish Nobel,” in recognition of his “unequivocal support” for Israel. He portrays support for Israel as part of a broader commitment to what he calls Western values, freedom, and anti-terrorism.
At the Western Wall, during a high-profile visit to Israel in 2025, Milei said: “My support for Israel comes from the heart because I believe this is a just cause – the cause of the West. I will always stand by your side.”
In the Knesset and in remarks to the media, he has said that “Israel is saving Western civilization,” linking Israel’s struggle to a civilizational fight against terrorism in general and Iran in particular. He paints Iran and Islamist militancy as threats to Argentina’s security.
He often refers to the two Iran-inspired terrorist bombings in Argentina. In 1992, the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires was destroyed in a suicide bombing, which killed 29 people and wounded over 200 others.
In 1994, the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires was subject to a devastating terrorist attack linked to Hezbollah. A suicide truck bomb killed 85 people and wounded over 300, targeting the heart of Argentina’s Jewish community.
Now Milei takes the lead in driving forward his pro-Israel policies in Latin America.
In mid-2025, the Genesis Prize Foundation set up the American Friends of Isaac Accords as a $1 million vehicle to back Milei’s vision of a new and fertile Latin American-Israeli connection.
The initiative is promoted regionally by way of a variety of Spanish-language media outlets, such as Infobae and Enlace Judío.
Infobae is a major Spanish-language digital news outlet based in Argentina, and Enlace Judío is a Spanish-language Jewish news and community media site based in Mexico.
The next partners
Largely reproducing the talking points of the Genesis-Milei network, these media outlets present the Isaac Accords as “Latin America’s Abraham Accords,” stressing innovation, investment, and bridges between Israeli tech and Latin American democracies.
A major purpose of the Isaac Accords in 2026 and beyond is to expand the alliance. As interest grows among governments sympathetic to Milei’s agenda, countries earmarked as potential recruits to the Isaac Accords include Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and possibly El Salvador.
Brazil, occupying nearly 50% of the land mass of South America, would be a prize indeed, but one requiring the expansion of the working language to include Portuguese.
The current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is in open conflict with Israel over Gaza, but Brazil’s next presidential election is scheduled for October 4, 2026.
Lula da Silva’s leading rival is Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of a previous president, who is explicitly tying his presidential bid to joining the Isaac Accords and deepening Brazil’s pro-Israel alignment.
Bolsonaro has publicly pledged that, if elected, he will sign the Isaac Accords and move Brazil’s embassy to Jerusalem.
His brother, Eduardo, in a social media post, said that Flávio will sign the Isaac Accords in January 2027, the month the new president is inaugurated.
If he wins, of course.■
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