Israeli-Peruvian Relations

Sephardic merchants settled in Peru more than a century ago. Jews lived in Iquitos while Rubber fever erupted at the end of the 19th century. ^[1] In 1998, Israel and Peru agreed to negotiations on the creation of free trade between the two countries. ^[2]

During the devastating earthquakes that struck Peru (1970, 2005, 2007), Israel was the first country to send aid. Israel sent a search and rescue unit to the Israel Defense Forces Group 669 , along with members of the IDF medical corps, which created a field hospital. ^{[3] [4]}

In 2001, Elian Carp, a former Israeli woman, became First Lady of Peru. ^[5]

In 2011, Peru’s former chief of staff, General Francisco Contreras, said: “We definitely need to worry about Iran ’s growing presence in South America. It seems that Iranian organizations are supporting other terrorist organizations and that they are cooperating with each other. There is something strange about Chavez’s relationship with Iran, as well as the presence of Iran’s defense minister in Bolivia during his recent visit. ” According to Contreras, countries such as Israel and Peru should step up cooperation in the fight against the growing terrorist threat. ^[6]

After the recognition by the US President Donald Trump of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel , the deputies of the Peruvian parliament signed a petition to the government calling for the transfer of the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. ^[7]

Bilateral trade totaled $ 37 million in 1997. $ 31 million worth of goods are exported from Israel to Peru. Israeli exports to Peru grew 71.5% in the first quarter of 1998 compared with the same period last year. Israeli exports consist of machine tools and plastics. Israel imports food, beverages and tobacco from Peru. ^[2]

The history of Israel’s defense ties with Peru is several decades old and in recent years includes the sale of the Spike anti-tank missile of the Rafael concern of the Peruvian army, as well as the Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles by the Peruvian Air Force. In 2009, the Peruvian government signed a $ 9 million contract with Global CST, a defense consultancy based in Petah Tikva , which is led by former IDF general Israel Ziv. Peruvian General Contreras said he decided to hire Ziva to help train the military in the fight against terrorists from the Maoist organization Sendero Luminoso .

According to Contreras, Ziva's company focused on training elite forces for special counter-terrorist operations, strengthening Peruvian intelligence networks and helping security forces work together to kill or capture Sendero Luminoso members. Contreras said that despite pressure from the United States not to hire a private company, the combination of help from the US military and the Ziva company turned the tide of the war in Peru with terror, and that “this combination brought about serious changes, and our military began to advance and enter more the fight against terrorists, instead of always being on the defensive. ”

In May 2013, Peruvian Minister of Agriculture Milton von Hesse held talks with his Israeli counterpart Yair Shamir to strengthen agricultural cooperation and project implementation. Von Hesse said that Israel has developed modern agricultural technology to solve the problems caused by deserts, and Peru seeks to learn from the experience of the Israelis and, therefore, achieve effective water management in arid areas. ^[8]