‘A warm welcome and a major challenge’: Israel’s new ambassador begins work in Colombia

Israel’s new ambassador to Colombia says she has felt the warmth of the Colombian people since arriving in Bogotá this week, but warned that combating anti-Israel misinformation and antisemitic narratives left by the previous government will be one of her greatest challenges.

“I can feel the warmth of the Colombian people,” Vivian Aisen told i24NEWS, just two days after beginning work at the Israeli Embassy. “I can feel that they are really looking forward to enhancing the relations between our countries, and we are going to work for that.”

Aisen arrived in Colombia as the country grapples with the aftermath of a devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake and Israel and Colombia rapidly rebuild diplomatic and economic ties following the inauguration of President Abelardo de la Espriella.

She acknowledged that her first days in the post had been “a little chaotic,” with the new Colombian government heavily focused on the earthquake response, but said she had been warmly received.

“It’s a pleasure being here,” she said. “Very, very nice people and very warm.”

Israeli teams bring technology and expertise

An Israeli humanitarian delegation has been working alongside Colombian rescue forces for the past week, helping locate people trapped at impact sites and assessing whether damaged buildings are safe to use.

Aisen said the initial search-and-rescue phase was nearing completion, with the mission now increasingly focused on inspecting residential buildings, hospitals and schools.

“There is another part of the work that is more related to the buildings: checking the buildings and if they are stable and if people can come back to live in them,” she said, adding that this stage of the operation was expected to conclude on Sunday.

According to the IDF, Israeli teams located and rescued all the missing people at the sites where they were operating. The delegation has also surveyed dozens of damaged buildings, most of which were approved for use, while others were deemed unsafe.

“They bring technologies and expertise that don’t exist here in Colombia,” she said.

She highlighted the delegation’s use of drones and other specialized technology to locate people inside collapsed buildings, describing the mission’s contribution as “really very important for the Colombian people.”

The inspections have already allowed more than 250 families to return to their homes.

Aisen said Israeli personnel had worked in close cooperation with their Colombian counterparts and brought capabilities that were not otherwise available on the ground.

“They bring technologies and expertise that don’t exist here in Colombia,” she said.

She highlighted the delegation’s use of drones and other specialized technology to locate people inside collapsed buildings, describing the mission’s contribution as “really very important for the Colombian people.”

Israel is also sending an additional five tons of humanitarian assistance aboard the aircraft that will bring the delegation home. That shipment will supplement the aid delivered with the rescue team, while a third donation may be assembled from supplies purchased inside Colombia, Aisen said.

Rebuilding ties after the Petro years

The humanitarian mission comes amid a dramatic turnaround in relations between Israel and Colombia.

Former Colombian president Gustavo Petro severed diplomatic ties with Israel in May 2024 over the war in Gaza. His successor, Abelardo de la Espriella, has moved quickly to restore the relationship since taking office on August 7.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar traveled to Colombia for de la Espriella’s inauguration, where the two sides discussed practical steps to strengthen diplomatic, security and economic cooperation.

Visa requirements for Israeli and Colombian travelers will be lifted beginning September 1, making travel easier between the two countries. Tens of thousands of Israelis visit Colombia each year.

Aisen said three issues had been identified as immediate priorities: lifting visa requirements, restoring Colombian coal exports to Israel and safeguarding the countries’ free trade agreement.

The previous Colombian government prohibited coal exports to Israel, but the restriction was lifted during de la Espriella’s first week in office.

The bilateral free trade agreement, signed in 2013 and implemented in 2020, had also come under threat during the Petro administration. Petro publicly declared his intention to terminate the deal, but the required process in Colombia’s Congress was never completed.

“The trade agreement is still very much in place,” Aisen said.

The two governments must now hold talks on expanding the products covered by the agreement and lowering the taxes applied to bilateral trade, she explained.

“I believe that this is going to be a big step to increase the trade between our countries and to bring more investors to Colombia,” Aisen said, adding that greater cooperation could benefit both the Colombian and Israeli economies.

‘Narratives that go back to medieval times’

Despite the rapid diplomatic progress, Aisen said reversing public attitudes shaped during the Petro years would be more difficult.

“One of the main challenges is the narratives that still exist here in this country,” she said.

Aisen accused the former president of promoting and amplifying false claims about Israel following the October 7 attacks and the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

“A lot of very malicious narratives against Israel were put in place, mainly by the president, and spread throughout social media,” she said.

She warned that the growing influence of artificial intelligence and social media had made it harder for members of the public to distinguish between reliable information and falsehoods.

“Unfortunately, many people here don’t have enough knowledge to distinguish between truth and lies,” she said.

Aisen said those narratives had damaged support for Israel among parts of Colombian society and, in some instances, revived much older forms of antisemitism.

“You can see antisemitic narratives that go back to medieval times,” she said. “It’s really hard to see that, and I think this is going to be one of the main challenges.”