Chile–Israel Relations

Chile and Israel have maintained a relationship encompassing diplomatic representation, trade, technical cooperation, and defense purchases, alongside disagreements over questions brought before the United Nations and other international institutions.[1] Agricultural development, irrigation, mining, housing, and water projects were already subjects of prospective cooperation during Salvador Allende’s presidency, while later agreements extended into science, technology, aviation, and medicine.[1][3] This practical agenda has existed alongside Chilean support for Palestinian statehood and criticism of particular Israeli government policies.[4]

The relationship also involves Chile’s Jewish community, whose representatives have advocated closer cooperation with Israel, participated in meetings with Chilean officials, and challenged boycott initiatives they considered harmful to Jewish life.[2][7][8] In 2017, Marcelo Isaacson, executive director of the community, identified innovation, water management, development, technology, and safety as fields in which Israel could contribute to Chile.[2] Government engagement with the community continued during the diplomatic tensions of 2023, including ministerial attendance at a Jewish prayer ceremony and a reception involving international Jewish and American diplomatic representatives.[7]

Ambassadorial recalls have been a recurring instrument of Chilean protest rather than, by themselves, evidence that all bilateral relations had ended.[9][5] Chile recalled its ambassador during the Gaza fighting in 2014 and again during the Israel–Hamas war in 2023.[9][5] Subsequent measures included exclusion of Israeli companies from an aerospace exhibition and withdrawal of Chilean military attachés.[10] The return of an ambassador in August 2026 followed President José Antonio Kast’s stated intention to strengthen cooperation with Israel.[6][11]

Chile abstained on the United Nations partition resolution in 1947, prompting Senator Humberto Alvarez to resign from the Chilean delegation in protest.[1] In 1949, Chile recognized Israel and supported its admission to the United Nations.[1] The recognition formed the basis for the subsequent establishment of diplomatic missions and exchanges between the two governments.[1][12]

Jacob Tsur went to Latin America in December 1948 as Israel’s first diplomat in the subcontinent and served from 1949 to 1953 as minister plenipotentiary to Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and Paraguay.[13] On May 16, 1950, the diplomat, identified in the bilateral record as Jacobo Tzur, presented his credentials to Chilean President Gabriel González Videla.[12] He initially resided in Argentina, while Samuel Goren served as honorary consul in Chile.[12]

Israel opened a legation in Santiago in 1950, and Chile established diplomatic representation in Israel in 1957.[1] Both countries raised their missions to embassy status in November 1958.[1] Chile transferred its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in March 1965, placing the location of its mission within the subsequent history of bilateral disagreements over the city.[1] In 1967, following the Six-Day War, Chile voted against Jerusalem’s reunification and supported a Latin American bloc resolution in the UN General Assembly.[1]

Israeli regional diplomacy sought support in the United Nations and other international forums, while technical assistance in Latin America included hydrogeology and agricultural development.[14] Chilean-Israeli exchanges also included visits to Chile by Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.[12] These diplomatic and technical contacts provided channels for engagement beyond individual votes or disagreements at international institutions.[12][14]

During Salvador Allende’s presidency, Chile maintained diplomatic relations with Israel despite political differences.[1] Allende’s position combined a demand for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six-Day War with recognition of Israel’s right to exist independently and securely.[1] Chile also considered cooperation with Israel in agriculture, irrigation, afforestation, mining, housing, and water projects.[1]

After the 1973 coup, Israel was among the first governments to recognize Chile’s new military government, doing so shortly after September 26.[1] Chile’s military dictatorship also rebuffed overtures from the Palestine Liberation Organization during a period when Arab states were pressing Latin American governments to abandon support for Israel and recognize the PLO.[14] Nevertheless, the two governments did not agree on every major diplomatic issue.[1]

In 1975, Chile voted for UN General Assembly Resolution 3379, which equated Zionism with racism.[1] The vote drew criticism, and General Augusto Pinochet subsequently annulled the Chilean delegation’s vote.[1] Chile moved its embassy from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv in 1980 and condemned Israel’s attack on Iraq’s nuclear reactor.[1] Despite these disagreements, relations under Pinochet remained cordial and included purchases of Israeli defense equipment.[1]

Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Mordechai Gur visited Chile in 1978 to promote defense sales.[15] Israeli sales to Pinochet’s Chile included three missile boats valued at $100 million, equipment for maintaining air-to-air missiles, anti-tank missiles, and radars.[15] During the 1980s, Chile also purchased Arava aircraft from Israel’s military industry.[1] A regional historical account additionally relayed an analysis alleging that Israel supplied Chile and Argentina with variants of the American AIM-9 missile known as the Sharir.[14]

Chilean Jewish community representative Gil Sinay addressed the relationship at the 1975 World Jewish Congress Plenary Assembly.[16] He said the community had sent greetings to Chile’s government because Chile had been among the few countries to vote in Israel’s favor on a recent United Nations occasion, without identifying the vote.[16] Declining to discuss Chilean internal politics, Sinay urged Jews not to involve the local community in attacks on the military regime; he said the government had respected the community and that Zionist, cultural, and religious activities continued.[16] His remarks expressed the position of a contemporary community representative rather than a comprehensive assessment of conditions under the dictatorship.[16]

Bilateral relations continued after Chile returned to democracy in 1990, and Israel recognized the country’s democratic government.[1][9] Subsequent exchanges included Sebastián Piñera’s first official presidential visit to Israel and a further visit in June 2019.[9][12] During his first visit, Piñera affirmed the Jewish people’s right to a free, democratic, secure state and the Palestinian people’s right to a state.[17]

Chile recognized Palestinian statehood in 2011 under Piñera.[4] Piñera maintained that warm relations with Israel and recognition of Palestinian statehood were not contradictory, describing his goal as Israeli and Palestinian states living in peace and prosperity within secure, recognized borders.[4] His position thus combined recognition of Israel’s security and national rights with support for Palestinian statehood.[4][17]

In July 2014, Chile recalled its ambassador from Israel because of violence in Gaza.[9] The recall formed part of a wider regional response: Chile was among five Latin American countries that recalled ambassadors for consultations during Operation Protective Edge, which lasted from July 8 to August 26.[18] The episode interrupted high-level diplomatic engagement without preventing subsequent ambassadorial exchanges and trade initiatives.[9][19]

In August 2016, Chile’s newly appointed ambassador to Israel, Mónica Jiménez de la Jara, met President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem.[19] Later that month, Israel opened an official trade office in Chile.[19] In a 2017 interview, Isaacson recalled that Piñera had promised during a visit to the Mount of Olives to personally ensure a Chile–Israel free trade agreement; Isaacson hoped the project would be realized during Piñera’s next term.[2]

Piñera’s three-day visit in June 2019 produced a memorandum of understanding between Israel’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Space and Chile’s national research authority, agreements concerning aviation, and a declaration of intent on health and medical cooperation.[3] He also reiterated support for a two-state solution.[3] These agreements expanded the documented practical agenda of presidential diplomacy beyond recognition and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[3]

On September 15, 2022, President Gabriel Boric postponed the ceremony at which Israeli Ambassador Gil Artzyeli was to present his credentials.[20] The Chilean government linked the postponement to the death of a 17-year-old Palestinian during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria.[20][21] Israel’s Foreign Ministry characterized the postponement as unprecedented, and Chile’s foreign minister subsequently apologized.[21] Boric accepted Artzyeli’s credentials on September 30, two weeks after the originally scheduled ceremony.[20][21]

Gerardo Gorodischer, president of the Jewish Community of Chile, attributed an increase in antisemitic comments on social media to Boric’s initial refusal to receive the ambassador’s credentials.[20] Artzyeli accepted the Chilean apology and said the two sides would focus on strengthening bilateral relations.[22] The episode therefore involved both a formal diplomatic protest and a subsequent effort to repair working relations.[21][22]

Following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel, Boric sent a Chilean Air Force plane to evacuate Chilean citizens.[7] The president of the Jewish Community of Chile expressed appreciation for the rescue effort.[7] On November 1, however, Boric announced the recall of Chile’s ambassador for consultations over what he described as Israeli violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.[5] He strongly condemned Israel’s military operations and said Chile viewed them with great concern.[5]

In March 2024, Chile’s Defense Ministry announced that Israel would be excluded from the FIDAE aerospace exhibition scheduled to begin on April 9.[23] The Israeli defense-export agency SIBAT and the companies Elbit, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Rafael had been expected to participate in an exhibition with 420 exhibitors from 47 countries.[23] The exclusion extended Chile’s response beyond ambassadorial consultations to a significant venue for defense and aerospace commerce.[23]

On September 13, 2024, Chile formally requested permission to intervene in South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice under the Genocide Convention.[19][24] The filing advanced allegations of genocide in Gaza and requested measures to protect Palestinians; these were Chile’s legal claims, not a judicial finding on the merits.[19][24]

In May 2025, Chile withdrew its military, defense, and air attachés from its embassy in Israel, citing humanitarian concerns about Israeli military operations in Gaza and restrictions on aid.[10] Three Chilean military attachés were recalled that week.[25] A June address by Boric announced an arms embargo against Israel and a ban on trade with businesses beyond the Green Line.[26] Boric accused Israel of ethnic cleansing, while saying Chile’s dispute was with the Israeli government rather than Israeli citizens; he also condemned Hamas and called for the release of the hostages held in Gaza.[26]

In December 2025, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar congratulated Chilean president-elect José Antonio Kast and expressed hope for stronger bilateral ties and cooperation.[19] In May 2026, Kast met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Costa Rica and said Chile would return its ambassador to Israel within weeks.[19][11] Kast also expressed interest in expanding cooperation in agriculture, health, artificial intelligence, technology, and security.[11]

Herzog said the presidents discussed opportunities to restore bilateral relations.[19] The May announcement was a commitment to return an ambassador, rather than confirmation that the return had already occurred.[11] The subsequent presentation of credentials established the implementation of that commitment.[6]

On August 3, 2026, Herzog received the credentials of Chilean Ambassador Gabriel Alejandro Zaliasnik Schilkurt in Jerusalem.[6] This was Chile’s first return of an ambassador since October 7, 2023.[6] Herzog called the appointment a milestone and welcomed the ambassador’s message of increasing bilateral ties.[6]

Bilateral trade exceeded $56 million in 2003, including $43.2 million in Israeli exports to Chile and $12.9 million in imports from Chile.[1] In 2004, trade approached $60 million, comprising $46.7 million in Israeli exports and $13.0 million in imports.[1] Major traded goods included agricultural equipment, electronic equipment, and foodstuffs.[1]

Chile’s membership in the Pacific Alliance provided another regional setting for economic engagement.[18] Chile belonged to the alliance alongside Mexico, Peru, and Colombia, and Israel was accepted as an observer state on February 10, 2014.[18] Interest in Israeli knowledge-based development also appeared in a 2011 Chilean press discussion of Israeli academia and its potential relevance to Latin American economic growth.[18]

Israel’s economic and trade mission in Chile opened in 2016 after a government decision to strengthen relations in Latin America.[27] In 2020, Israel’s first economic attaché to Chile, Hadar Shor, identified Chilean interest in Israeli agricultural technology, telecommunications, cybersecurity, food technology, and mining applications.[27] She also cited Israeli irrigation company Netafim’s presence in Chile’s acid-dripper market.[27] These observations described areas of commercial interest and activity rather than aggregate bilateral trade totals.[27]

Air transport formed another field of cooperation.[28] In 2018, Israel signed an air-transport agreement with Chile at an International Civil Aviation Organization conference in Sri Lanka.[28] Israel’s transport minister said the agreements were intended to facilitate additional flights on existing routes, new routes, and more codeshare arrangements.[28] Further aviation agreements accompanied Piñera’s 2019 visit, alongside the science memorandum and the declaration of intent on medical cooperation.[3]

Community advocacy also emphasized the practical value of Israeli expertise.[2] Isaacson’s 2017 proposals focused on exchanges in innovation, water management, development, technology, and safety.[2] Kast’s 2026 proposals similarly identified agriculture, health, artificial intelligence, technology, and security as prospective fields for expanded cooperation.[11] Across these different periods, water, agriculture, and advanced technology remained prominent subjects in the bilateral agenda.[2][11]

In 2021, the Chile-Palestine Inter-Parliamentary Group in the Chamber of Deputies drafted a bill to boycott goods, services, and products from Israeli settlements.[8] It remained under committee consideration at the end of the year.[8] Lawmaker Sergio Gahona, one of its drafters, and other parliamentarians framed the proposal as a means of preventing human-rights violations in Israeli-occupied territories.[8] The Jewish Community of Chile and the Chilean Community of Israel opposed it, saying it fostered hostility toward Chilean Jews and was reflected in increased aggression and antisemitism.[8]

Municipal boycotts had already produced a separate legal dispute.[19] In December 2018, Chile’s national comptroller determined that municipalities could not legally boycott Israel, following complaints about Valdivia’s prohibition on municipal contracting with companies linked to Israel.[19] The municipal decision and the later parliamentary proposal concerned different governmental levels and measures.[8][19]

In 2023, deputy Jorge Brito posted that one “cannot lament the Holocaust while defending apartheid and criminal massacre.”[7] Jewish community members and legislators across the political spectrum condemned the post.[7] Following a dispute on X between Brito and Israel’s ambassador, legislator Andres Jouannet issued an official apology on behalf of congressional leadership and the Defense Committee, stating: “We cooperate with Israel regularly. Israel is a partner on many issues.”[7]

Government contacts with Jewish communal institutions continued during the same period.[7] On September 5, 2023, Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren and Minister Alvaro Elizalde attended a prayer hosted by the Valparaiso Region Jewish community and the Jewish Community of Chile.[7] Elizalde described the ceremony as reflecting Chile’s religious diversity.[7] In December, officials attended a Jewish Community of Chile reception for a delegation from the American Jewish Committee and the U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.[7]

American diplomatic engagement also addressed these concerns.[29] In congressional testimony, U.S. Special Envoy Deborah Lipstadt expressed disappointment at ambassadorial recalls by Chile, Honduras, and Colombia, arguing that reducing diplomatic channels did not advance shared goals for a long-term solution.[29] She said her deputy met senior Chilean officials in December 2023 and urged engagement with the local Jewish community.[29]

Israel’s defense relationship with Pinochet’s government has generated scrutiny because of the regime’s abuses.[15][30] During his 1978 visit, Mordechai Gur denied allegations of large-scale torture and murder by the regime.[15] An account of a 2015 freedom-of-information petition described survivors, including Lily Taubman, seeking Israeli records concerning collaboration with the dictatorship and the fate of disappeared people, including Taubman’s father.[30] The reported response cited the volume of relevant state records—19,000 pages—as preventing compliance.[30]

The same opinion article recounted an affidavit by Eitan Kalinsky, who recalled recognizing a “Kibbutz Beit Alfa” inscription on colored-water cannons used against pro-democracy demonstrators in Santiago.[30] He described water driving demonstrators backward and a shop window collapsing.[30] The article also relayed claims about mutual support at the United Nations, bilateral agreements, and a 1984 American cable identifying Israel as a major Chilean arms supplier; these details are mediated through an opinion article rather than a direct archival presentation.[30]

The precise history of a proposed free trade agreement remains unclear: one account describes a freeze and later reinstatement in 2014, while Isaacson’s 2017 remarks describe an agreement as a project Piñera had promised to secure.[9][2] Likewise, speculation in May 2025 about possible severance of all ties should not be confused with the documented withdrawal of military attachés.[25] The concrete later milestone was the new Chilean ambassador’s presentation of credentials in August 2026.[6]