Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on October 8 that Colombia will relocate its embassy to Jerusalem, and suggested Brazil could soon join the growing list of Latin American countries making the same shift. "We will work hard because this is the diplomatic battle over the truth," Saar said. "And the truth is, Jerusalem was always the capital of one nation."
Colombia inaugurated the embassy in Jerusalem in mid-October under the newly inaugurated government of Abelardo de la Espriella. Last month, Colombia and Israel also began allowing visa-free travel between the two countries, restoring ties severed after Israel's war on Gaza.
The realignment is unfolding as right-wing parties rise across Latin America. In Brazil, a tight presidential race between incumbent left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right-wing challenger Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has made relations with Israel a key campaign issue. Bolsonaro has sported Israeli flags at rallies and played up his friendship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two candidates face a run-off after Bolsonaro performed strongly in the first round.
Experts point to a convergence of factors driving the shift. "Right-wing leaderships seeking validation from Washington, evangelical bases giving them electoral and ideological grounding, and an Israeli diplomatic offensive," said Marta Tawil Kuri, a research professor at the Center for International Studies at the College of Mexico. She described the realignment as a multi-factor shift, not any single driver.