MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina ups security measures at Jewish community venues

Security measures have been upped at key Jewish community venues

Israel has temporarily closed its embassy in Argentina and other countries due to escalating conflict with Iran. In Argentina, home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, the confrontation is causing concern. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich upped the alert to intermediate.

”In view of the recent events in the Middle East, from the Department of Community Assistance (DAC) of the [Delegation of Argentine Israeli Associations] DAIA, we inform [the citizenry] that coordinated work with ministries and national and local Security Forces has already started,“ a statement read.

A ”joint action plan with preventive measures and protocols to be followed“ has been defined to ”reinforce protection“ in the Jewish community's institutions. ”We ask the entire community to remain calm and cooperate by informing the DAC of any suspicious situation, object, or person,“ the DAIA also mentioned while expressing its support to Israel ”in its commitment to protect the lives of its people in the face of a global threat.”

The precautionary measure also resulted in heightened security at Jewish institutions like the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA), synagogues and ORT Schools, coordinated with Israeli and US intelligence, given to potential threats from Iran-backed proxies like the terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas, which are linked to past attacks in Argentina (1992 Israeli Embassy and 1994 AMIA bombings).

While President Javier Milei was able to leave Israel hours before its airspace's closure, two Argentine lawmakers -Maximiliano Ferraro (Coalición Cívica-Ari) and Damián Arabia (Pro)- have been reported to have been stranded in the Middle Eastern country.

Argentina is a close ally of Israel's, particularly after the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Milei with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his trip this week.

Hezbollah and Hamas are proxies for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Hezbollah is accused of being behind the terrorist attacks on the former Israeli Embassy building in Buenos Aires (29 dead) and the AMIA (85 dead). Both organizations are considered terrorist organizations under Argentine law.

In April last year, Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Macri ordered a contingency plan against terrorism, after another escalation between Iran and Israel, in which the Iranian armed forces launched drones and ballistic missiles in retaliation after another air raid.