The dispute between Colombia and Israel began with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s Oct. 9 announcement that it was imposing a total siege on Gaza, in which he dismissed the Palestinians living there as “animals.” Colombian President Gustavo Petro pointed out on his X account that “this is what the Nazis said of the Jews…. Democratic peoples cannot allow Nazism to reestablish itself in international politics,” he wrote, adding that Gallant’s wording amounted to “hate speech” which, if allowed to continue, “will only bring a holocaust.” In later postings, he wrote that no democrat “can accept Gaza being turned into a concentration camp.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry called in Colombia’s ambassador on Oct. 15 to inform the Colombian government that Petro’s statements “inflame anti-Semitism” and “threaten the safety of the Jewish community in Colombia,” and that therefore, Israel is suspending “military exports” to Colombia. U.S. Special Envoy To Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Deborah Lipstadt backed Israel up, with her own condemnation of President Petro’s statements.
Colombia’s Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva demanded an apology on Oct. 16, and suggested on his X account that the Israeli ambassador to Bogotá could “leave.” He later clarified that Colombia is not expelling the ambassador and diplomatic relations with Israel would continue “if that country so wishes it.” But Petro has written that if Israel wants to suspend relations, let them.
