For 17 years, Venezuela and Israel were separated by a rupture that went far beyond diplomatic protocol. Hugo Chávez’s decision to sever relations in January 2009 left thousands of citizens without direct representation and deepened the uncertainty facing a Jewish community that declined from approximately 25,000 people to around 5,000, amid emigration and years of political hostility toward Israel.
The statement issued this week does not yet restore full diplomatic relations, but it formalizes a decisive first step: the exchange of diplomatic notes, the resumption of consular relations, the opening of consulates general in both capitals, and the continuation of the technical cooperation launched after the devastating double earthquake of June 24. Above all, it marks the beginning of rebuilding trust.
The historical paradox is striking: For years, Venezuela was Iran’s principal ally in Latin America. The landscape began to shift following the US capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3 and assumed a human dimension after the disaster. The arrival of Israeli delegations, the official mission, and organizations including ZAKA, NATAN, and IsraAID enabled two countries without formal relations to recognize one another again through the universal language of saving lives and rebuilding.
Humanitarian aid opens a path toward renewed trust
I coordinated the ZAKA delegation led by Rabbi Yosef Garmon. I returned to Venezuela after 20 years, having left the country marked by my identity as both a journalist and a Jew. I crossed the border from Colombia as a Venezuelan, an Israeli, and a Jew, carrying aid and representing Israel’s values.
In La Guaira, we encountered not rejection, but gratitude: Venezuelans recognized the Jewish people and the biblical land that resonates so deeply with their spiritual sensibilities.
Israel could have responded with resentment; it chose responsibility. Every life touched transformed solidarity into diplomacy: the recovery of Néstor’s body, the aid delivered to Rosa and her family, and hundreds of other stories. As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on July 9, the delegations were rebuilding both ruins and relations, showing Venezuela the true face of Israel.
Years of quiet diplomacy begin to bear fruit
This breakthrough also recognizes years of quiet and persistent work. Rabbi Isaac Cohen, chief rabbi of the Israelite Association of Venezuela and a native of Tangier, maintained channels of communication with the governments of Chávez, Maduro, and Delcy Rodríguez, with the stated purpose of protecting the Jewish community and addressing its needs.
On August 9, he delivered a letter to Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia, addressed to President Rodríguez, requesting the restoration of diplomatic and consular ties. One day later, years of patient engagement began to translate into a decision of state.
As soon as I learned of the official statement, I spoke with two privileged witnesses to this history. Milos Alcalay, Venezuela’s former ambassador to Israel during Yitzhak Rabin’s government, welcomed the decision and congratulated Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Rodríguez, despite not sharing her government’s ideological orientation. I also spoke with Eldad Golan, the last counselor at the Israeli Embassy in Caracas, who was forced to close its doors in 2009.
Today, from the other side of that painful chapter, Golan congratulates the Venezuelan and Israeli foreign ministers, Plasencia and Saar, for their meticulous diplomatic work. Their reactions show that foreign policy can recognize an achievement of national importance above partisan affinities.
The restoration of consular relations will return institutional support to citizens who lacked direct channels for almost two decades. Diplomacy acquires meaning when it once again serves people.
Diplomacy allows nations to build new bridges
This shift is not easy for everyone to absorb. In 2024, I interviewed María Corina Machado (current Nobel Peace Prize laureate) for i24NEWS while she was in hiding and facing persecution in Venezuela. She spoke of her admiration for Israel and of the need to restore relations. The process did not come about under her leadership. History rarely follows the expected script: Diplomacy does not erase the past, but it allows nations to evolve, rectify mistakes, and build new bridges.
In 1947, Venezuela voted in favor of United Nations Resolution 181, which paved the way for the creation of the State of Israel. That historical memory survived 17 years of rupture. The earthquake shook structures and certainties, but revealed something essential: Even when governments close doors, solidarity between peoples remains intact.
What politics destroyed, humanitarian action began to rebuild
What politics destroyed over 17 years, humanitarian action began to rebuild in a matter of weeks. Today, a consular channel is being restored; tomorrow, full diplomatic relations may follow. Yet the most profound achievement has already occurred: Two sister nations have begun to look upon one another with trust again. Tragedy opened a door that politics had kept closed. We are only beginning to write the first chapter.
