May 1, 2026
- What are the Isaac Accords?
- Why did the Isaac Accords originate in Argentina?
- Where might the Isaac Accords expand next?
- What could the Isaac Accords mean for Latin America?
- What is AJC saying and doing about the Isaac Accords?
Inspired by the Abraham Accords – the historic 2020 peace agreement between Israel and three Arab nations – Israel and Argentina have unveiled a framework for a strategic partnership that could expand across the Western Hemisphere.
Dubbed the “Isaac Accords,” the initiative inked by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Argentina’s President Javier Milei, and mediated by the U.S., aims to unite “the descendants of Isaac and nations of the Judeo-Christian tradition, in defense of freedom and democracy, and in the fight against terrorism, antisemitism, and drug trafficking.”
Isaac, the miracle son born to 100-year-old Abraham and 90-year-old Sarah, fulfilled God’s promise to make Abraham a great nation. Isaac also happens to be the only patriarch in the Hebrew Bible who never left the Land of Israel.
Here’s what you need to know about the recent landmark negotiations between Israel and Latin America.
Key takeaways:
1) Israel wants to support Latin American countries that stood by it after the Hamas terror attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, and continue to align with the world’s one Jewish state.
2) Argentina’s President Javier Milei introduced the concept of the Isaac Accords when he received Israel’s Genesis Prize in 2025.
3) Many Latin America nations view Israel as a strategic partner thanks to the Middle Eastern nation’s expertise in high-tech innovation, agriculture, irrigation, and water management, as well as defense and countering terrorism
4) Israel has a debt of gratitude to Latin America, where several nations were instrumental in its establishment by the United Nations in 1947.
What Is the History of the Isaac Accords?
While the Isaac Accords refer to a new trilateral trade, technology, and security agreement established in 2026 between the U.S., Israel, and Latin America, the impetus for the Accords goes back to the establishment of the modern state of Israel.
In 1947, Guatemala’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Jorge Garcia Granados, mobilized a group of Latin American countries to support the UN Partition plan that led to the creation of the Jewish state. He also cast the first vote in its favor.
Meanwhile, Brazilian diplomat Oswaldo Aranha chaired the United Nations General Assembly, which adopted the resolution, delaying the vote for three days to ensure it would pass.
“From that moment there was a love story between Latin America and Israel,” said Dina Siegel Vann, Director ofAmerican Jewish Committee’s (AJC’s) Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA). “Israel owes a historical debt to Latin America. Countries in the region that have stood by Israel through thick and thin can benefit from the relationship.”
Why did the Isaac Accords originate in Argentina?
The Isaac Accords are a diplomatic innovation of Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who in 2025 became the first head of state to receive the Genesis Prize, known as the “Jewish Nobel.” Since his election in November 2023, he has been an outspoken supporter of Israel.
Under his administration, Argentina has reversed a decades-long history of anti-Israel votes in the United Nations. He has announced plans to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem, and he has taken steps to hold accountable the Iran-backed terrorists who bombed the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires and the Israeli embassy, also in Buenos Aires, in the early 1990s, designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
Since Milei received the prize, Argentina has expanded trade and investment cooperation and deepened coordination on security and counterterrorism with Israel. In April, El Al, the national airline of Israel, announced that direct flights between Tel Aviv and Buenos Aires would take off in November 2026.
Where might the Isaac Accords expand next?
Just as the Abraham Accords started with conversations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates before expanding to other Arab countries that had not normalized relations with the Jewish state, leaders hope to expand the conversation between Israel and Argentina to other Latin American nations, many of which already have diplomatic ties to Latin American nations.
Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Paraguay have already followed Argentina’s example of designating Hamas, Hezbollah, and the IRGC as terrorist organizations. Guatemala, Honduras, and Paraguay have already moved their embassies to Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Ecuador opened an Office of Innovation with diplomatic standing in Jerusalem, and Costa Rica announced plans to do the same. Costa Rica also signed a free trade agreement with Israel.
Meanwhile, Brazil has established a parliamentary caucus to expand cooperation with Israel in economic development, innovation, security, and healthcare. A permanent working group of parliamentarians will coordinate implementation and track progress.
Still, joining the Accords would be a huge leap forward for a few countries, namely Cuba, which hasn’t had diplomatic ties with Israel since the mid-1970s, Venezuela, which broke ties with Israel over a previous Gaza conflict in 2009, and Nicaragua and Belize, which severed relations after the October 7 Hamas terror attacks. Bolivia also severed diplomatic relations with Israel after the October 7 terror attacks but restored them in December 2025. Chile recalled its ambassador and Colombia not only recalled its ambassador, it opened an embassy in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
What Could the Isaac Accords Mean for Latin America?
Latin America relies on Israel for expertise in innovation, specifically in precision agriculture, irrigation, and water management to address scarcity.
Israel also provides defense equipment, arms, and security technology to several Latin American nations, as well as anti-terrorism cooperation and military training.
Countries that become part of the Accords will be able to better counter the Iranian regime’s terrorist networks, which are already expanding across Latin America and contributing to the region’s organized crime ring. Isaac Accords members can also coordinate and align their positions in international forums such as the United Nations and President Trump’s Board of Peace, and expand cooperation in innovation, technology, and trade.
Israeli investors also recognize Latin America’s growth potential. Predating the Isaac Accords, the Israeli government launched an initiative to invest Israeli capital derived from Israelis’ retirement savings in regional infrastructure projects in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
What Is AJC Saying and Doing About the Isaac Accords?
AJC welcomed the announcement of the Isaac Accords, the addition of direct flights between Tel Aviv and Buenos Aires, and Milei’s pledge to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem, calling it “a powerful moment for Argentina–Israel ties.”
Just as AJC plays an outsized role in strengthening the Abraham Accords and continues to foster understanding, cooperation, and peace between Israel and its neighbors to this day through AJC's Center for a New Middle East (CNME), its decades of work in Latin America put it in a prime position to help implement the Isaac Accords.
At the Strategic Forum for Leaders of Ibero-American Jewish Communities convened by AJC in Santiago, Chile in December 2023, more than 110 Ibero-American and U.S. Jewish leaders unanimously endorsed AJC’s Santiago Declaration, reaffirming their regional commitment to fight antisemitism, stand by Israel in its war against Hamas, support democratic values and human rights worldwide, and promote continued collaboration.
During another forum convened in Madrid in 2025, a similar group issued The Madrid Declaration, calling on governments throughout the region to protect local Jewish communities from the growing “atmosphere of targeting and fear” and to prioritize the rebuilding of diplomatic relations with the State of Israel.
Drawing on these longstanding relationships with political, diplomatic, and civil society leaders across the Americas, AJC is working to:
- Convene high-level forums and roundtables with key stakeholders
- Engage Jewish communities as catalysts for investment and partnership
- Expand the membership of the Accords
- Facilitate dialogue between governments and civil society organizations
- Help amplify results and impact
