Chile–Israel relations

Chile-Israel relations

Chile	Israel

Chile–Israel relations refers to the bilateral and diplomatic ties between Chile and Israel. Chile recognized Israel’s independence in February 1949. Both countries established diplomatic relation on 16 May 1950, with Israel sending their first ambassador on that date and Chile sending their first ambassador on 16 June 1952. Chile has an embassy in Tel Aviv. Israel has an embassy in Santiago.

In November 1983, Chilean Foreign Minister Miguel Schweitzer Walters visited Israel. The Israeli Attorney General Yitzhak Zamir raised the issue of extraditing suspected Nazi war criminal Walter Rauff. Walters said he could not extradite Rauff due to Chilean statute of limitations. In 1984, a further request was made by the Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry for Rauff's extradition to Chilean Foreign Minister Jaime del Valle. Del Valle stated that it would be "inappropriate" to expel Rauff. Former Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir visited Chile with her Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and March 2005 saw the first official visit to Israel when Minister of Foreign Affairs Ignacio Walker made the trip with a delegation.

The Military and Naval Attaché and Defense and Air Attaché offices as part of the Chilean Embassy to Israel seek to maintain and increase the bonds with the Israeli Defence Forces "in order to make knowledge, training and experiences exchange possible" and increase "the military bonds between the Ministry of Defense and its Israeli counterpart, in order to comply with the Chilean Foreign and Defense Policy".

In 1988, the Chilean Government together with the Israeli Government and the US State Department blocked the purchase of F5 fighter jets from Chile to Iran.

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