Some of my best friends are Argentine. Well, that’s more of a figure of speech than the literal truth. What I mean is that one of my true heroes is Argentine – the pianist Martha Argerich. I’m also fascinated (in a good way) by the president, Javier Milei. And I often think you just can’t beat an Argentine steak with a Malbec. So while I was desperate for them to lose last night’s World Cup final – the team’s relentless gamesmanship, provocation and cynical fouling shame their country – believe me when I say that I have no animus against Argentina generally.
Quite the opposite. Its people are cultured, vibrant and sophisticated.
So when I say that I’ve rarely seen a more misplaced, counter-productive and plain stupid piece of so-called diplomacy than the words of Gidon Sa’ar, the Israeli foreign minister, after the Argentinians beat England in the semi-final last week, I want you to know it has nothing to do with any ill will towards Argentina.
Sa’ar took to social media to post this taunt:
How does the song go?
“It’s coming home”
Yes it is. It’s coming home to Argentina.
Vamos Argentina!
On one level, you can view this as just a bit of fun. After all, the current British government (not, of course, the English government, but that point is probably lost on Sa’ar) has gone out of its way to turn Israel from one of our closest allies to being a pariah state, restoring funding to the terrorist-harbouring Unrwa, backing the arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, barring Israelis from the Royal College of Defence Studies and, of course, rewarding Hamas by recognising a Palestinian state. In that context, hoping a team playing England beats them is hardly a declaration of war.
But in the context of calls for Israel to recognise the Falklands as Argentinian, Sa’ar’s post is more than a bit of banter. No less an authority than Eugene Kontorovich, for example, one of the world’s most influential scholars of international law, has written this: “Six months ago, I urged Israel recognise the Malvinas as Argentinian territory, occupied by the UK. Such action seems even more appropriate now, as London's even more radical government sanctions Israeli NGOs and prepares to impose broad trade restrictions including on Jerusalem.”
You will notice that Kontorovich makes no reference to Argentina’s legal claim, which is because that legal claim is baseless. Kontorovich’s suggestion is entirely based on a legal maxim I’d not been aware of: tit-for-tat. Because the UK government is running scared of the sectarian Muslim vote, he suggests Israel should find an issue over which it can “yah boo sucks” to the UK.
The problem with this idea is not only that it is more shoot-from-the-hip than considered diplomacy, it is that it would be difficult to come up with a more guaranteed way to go over the head of the UK government and anger the entire British population. As it is, Hamas’s propaganda is leading to a steep fall in support and sympathy for Israel’s case among the public. Recognising the Falklands as Argentine would take that fall and multiply it by a factor of about a thousand.
It’s certainly correct that the likes of Ben-Gvir and Smotrich actively want to see Israel friendless, as that would feed in to their support. But for mainstream Israeli politicians, while anger is a perfectly respectable response to the behaviour of the Labour government, seeking a means with which to anger – probably permanently – the entire British population is idiotic. And as that great (and deeply rational) friend of Israel, Andrew Fox, has put it: “How many intelligence flights did Argentina fly over Gaza to help recover the hostages, btw?”
It’s important to note that Sa’ar has not gone there. Yet. But by so conspicuously championing Argentina precisely because it was playing England, he risks lending momentum to an idea that would do lasting damage to Israel’s standing in Britain.
Instead of dredging up old sores in order to find new ways to antagonise ordinary British citizens, Israel would be better off seeking new ways to win them back.
To get more from opinion, click here to sign up for our free Editor's Picks newsletter.