A pro-Israel political wave sweeping across Latin America served as the backdrop to a panel discussion about the opportunities opening up for Israel in the Western Hemisphere at the 2026 JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem on Monday.
The panel, “The Impending Isaac Accords: Israel & Latin America,” which featured diplomats and regional experts, discussed the positive shifts that will drive participation in the Isaac Accords, the strategic framework announced by Argentinian President Javier Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Milei’s visit to Israel in April.
The discussion, moderated by JNS journalist Etgar Lefkovits, featured Ezra Cohen, Panama’s Ambassador to Israel; Fitzgerald Haney, former U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica; and Leah Soibel, founder and CEO of Fuente Latina, which provides news coverage of the Middle East to Spanish-language news outlets.
“What we have to realize is that the Isaac Accords have a far-reaching impact far beyond the diplomatic,” Soibel said. “You have 20% of the total U.S. population who are Latino. They’re slated to be 30% of the total U.S. population by 2050. They harbor the least amount of anti-Semitic sentiments.”
The panel celebrated the victory of pro-Israel candidate Abelardo De La Espriella, who bested his left-wing opponent in Sunday’s presidential election in Colombia.
De La Espriella has made restoring ties to Israel and moving his country’s embassy to Jerusalem a key pillar of his election platform.
It will mark a dramatic change over his predecessor, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who posted anti-Israel and antisemitic messages to social media, and in May 2024, cut diplomatic ties with the Jewish State.
Cohen said he looked at a map of Latin American countries that day and only four were run by left-wing, anti-Israel governments. Referring to an earlier panel on the dismal prospects for Jews in Europe, he said, “When one window closes, another opens. Come to Latin America.”
“Friends of Israel keep winning,” Haney said. “I think we’re going to see a lot more positive things come out of Latin America.”
A colleague from Colombia sent him a text message promising that “on Aug. 7 at 5:00 pm we’re going to restore relations with Israel.” That is the date and time of the new president’s inauguration, he noted, predicting there will be another announcement from Colombia regarding its decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem.
Colombia is just the latest in a series of Latin American countries turning to Israel for “shared values, shared prosperity, shared security,” he said.
The Israel Allies Foundation, a pro-Israel advocacy group that works with lawmakers, is bringing together 11 different legislatures from across Latin America to Buenos Aires at the end of the week to sign a declaration of shared principles, Haney said.
He noted this had been done successfully with the Brazilian legislature, despite its anti-Israel leader, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The Brazilian legislature drafted a plan to deepen relations with Israel over the next nine months.
Soibel said 12 Latin American countries have restored their friendship with Israel, and there’s a growing interest among Hispanic content creators, influencers, and journalists in the Jewish State. Her group has brought 300 non-Jewish, Hispanic journalists to Israel.
The panel highlighted that JNS established a Spanish-language edition based in Panama. Soibel said the work of pro-Israel groups in the region is critical as there are only a small number who are active, while Iran, Qatar, and Hezbollah are all propagandizing Latin America in Spanish.
“The number of organizations that work, and leaders that work, in the Spanish-speaking space you can probably count on one, maybe two hands. So the work that’s being done is incredibly strategic. It’s incredibly impactful,” she said.
“Israel and the Jewish people need to invest more. We have a huge Hispanic Israeli population here in Israel, many of which were the victims of Oct. 7,” she said. “We have stories to tell. We now need investment and distribution channels to be able to get those messages and information out there.”
The panelists concluded by expressing optimism that Latin America will become an increasingly important pillar of Israel’s global diplomatic strategy in the coming years.
