Unique Sites of Israel: MAKING HISTORY: Paraguay to Relocate Embassy to Jerusalem

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In what will amount to a major diplomatic victory for Israel, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña will visit the Jewish State next week for the reopening of his country’s embassy in Jerusalem. Peña’s visit will include an address to the Knesset on Wednesday, December 11, followed by a ceremony with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The embassy will officially open on Thursday, December 12, at the Har Hotzvim high-tech park in Jerusalem.

This embassy reopening was a key campaign promise of Peña’s 2023 election. He had previously expressed support for Israel’s decision to establish Jerusalem as its capital, saying, “The State of Israel recognizes Jerusalem as its capital. The seat of the parliament is in Jerusalem, the president is in Jerusalem. So, who are we to question where they establish their own capital?” The opening, initially scheduled for November 2023, was delayed due to the conflict with Hamas.

This marks the second time Paraguay’s embassy will be reopening in Jerusalem. In May 2018, then-Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes made history by opening his embassy in Jerusalem, becoming just the third country to do so—just nine days after President Trump’s landmark move and five days after Guatemala. But only five months later, his successor, President Mario Abdo Benítez reversed the decision, citing a lack of consultation and the potential harm to Paraguay’s neutral stance on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. In response, Israel closed its embassy in Paraguay. Fast forward to September 2024, Israel reopened its embassy in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, in a deeply emotional ceremony. Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana affixed a Mezuzah, a special one that once belonged to Sivan Elkabetz and Naor Hasidim, two Israeli victims of the horrific October 7 Gaza attacks. For the opening ceremony in Jerusalem, both Sivan and Naors’ fathers will be in attendance.

Once the move is completed, Paraguay will join the United States, Guatemala, Kosovo, Honduras and Papua New Guinea who have already moved their embassies to Jerusalem. Other countries have recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital and pledged to move their embassies shortly, including the African nations of Liberia, Malawi, Congo, and Equatorial Guinea, Argentina in South America and the Czech Republic in the EU. The island nations of Nauru, Vanuatu, and Fiji recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with the latter promising to move its embassy by the end of 2024. Additionally, EU countries such as Hungary and Slovakia have recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and have opened embassy branches in the city, although their main offices remain in Tel Aviv.

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