closeicon
Israel

'Israel funded Argentina in Falklands war'

articlemain

A new book claims the late Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin supported emergency arms shipments to the Argentine military at the height of the Falklands War.

It is claimed that Mr Begin's supposed hatred of the British from his days fighting the pre-independence mandate led to the move.

Operation Israel, by Argentine journalist Hernan Dobry, details the close military relations between Israel and Argentina during the years of the military dictatorship in the South American country from the 1960s to 1982.

Among the weaponry Israel sold to the Argentine Air Force were "Dagger" fighter jets, manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries. According to the book, these sales intensified during the months leading up to the British attack on Argentine forces, following the occupation of the Falkland Islands in April 1982.

Mr Dobry alleges that the equipment Argentina gained from Israel was mainly destined for the jets, including air-to-air missiles, warning systems and larger fuel tanks.

He claims to have interviewed an official in an Israeli export company who was involved in the deals and who alleges that Mr Begin encouraged the sales when he heard they would be used to kill British soldiers.

The Israeli Defence Ministry, which regulates and authorises all sales of military hardware abroad, declined to comment on the book. But one senior official said it was "highly unlikely that in the months of the Falklands War, when Israel was preparing the invasion of Lebanon, anyone in the defence establishment, and certainly not the prime minister, would have the time or resources to organise emergency arms supplies for faraway Argentina".

Herzl Makov, director of the Begin Heritage Centre in Jerusalem, said the publication was "a distortion of historical reality", adding: "Mr Begin's relations with British prime ministers James Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher were excellent and warm."

Share via

Want more from the JC?

To continue reading, we just need a few details...

Want more from
the JC?

To continue reading, we just
need a few details...

Get the best news and views from across the Jewish world Get subscriber-only offers from our partners Subscribe to get access to our e-paper and archive