People still believe it. And every year, when there are forest fires, Israelis or Jews are blamed.
It is true that many Israelis go hiking in Patagonia and other regions, and some have accidentally started forest fires - one major one in 2011 that was started negligently by an Israeli backpacker. But now every fire is blamed on Jews, including new ones this year.
The specific incident this year is that one man, Martín Morales, filmed tourists whom he identified as “Israehellis” making fires in Los Glaciares National Park, an area where fires are strictly prohibited. The video gives no indication or proof that the backpackers were actually Israeli. Even according to Morales, when he yelled at them they put out the fire. Yet that by itself was enough to restart incessant rumors yet again that the Jews want to burn down Patagonia to buy it cheaply from the government and make a new Jewish state.خلال التغطية الإعلامية لحرائق الأرجنتين، وفي لقاء صحفي مع امرأة أرجنتينية من المنطقة المتأثرة بالحرائق، حذرت المرأة وناشدت العالم للانتباه إلى حرائق الغابات المدمّرة والضخمة في الأرجنتين، مؤكدة أنها لم تكن طبيعية على الإطلاق .
— Tamer | تامر (@tamerqdh) January 11, 2026
تقول إن الحرائق دمّرت ما تصفه بجنتهم وتم إحراقه… pic.twitter.com/OPlVkQJD6V
El Diario 24 reports:
On Radio 10, journalist Marcela Feudale claimed that the fires in Patagonia had been started by two Israelis . These statements sparked outrage from figures such as Eduardo Feinmann, the president of the DAIA (Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations), Mauro Berenstein, and even President Javier Milei, who warned that this type of message, broadcast on major media outlets, promotes an anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish, and anti-Semitic stance.One of the first to criticize Marcela Feudale's comments was journalist Eduardo Feinmann, who called his colleague "irresponsible." "Yesterday I heard the irresponsible Marcela Feudale on Radio 10 saying she had good sources indicating that the fires in Chubut were started by two Israelis. That is completely false. It was a deceitful and anti-Israeli comment ," the journalist wrote on his official X account.Along the same lines, Mauro Berenstein, head of the Delegation of Argentine Jewish Associations (DAIA), emphasized that pointing to two Israelis as the cause of the fires without evidence is completely irresponsible and dangerous. "It creates stigmas and reinforces an anti-Jewish and hateful narrative . The media bears an enormous responsibility: lies are not opinions, and DAIA will not allow it," he stated.The words of the DAIA president were echoed by Javier Milei, who described this scenario as "the dark side of Argentina ." The head of state also shared the statement of Congresswoman Sabrina Ajmechet, who warned that Feudale's remarks, in a context of increasing antisemitism, are irresponsible and put the Jewish community in an uncomfortable position.According to the Buenos Aires City legislator, the Radio 10 journalist's message was not innocent, but rather had a purpose. "I don't think it was a coincidence. They use Israel and Jews to attack the government, and it's completely gotten out of hand. Today in Argentina, many live in fear for practicing their religion. We must consider the consequences of the messages we use as communicators," Ajmechet stated.
Once the conspiracy theory gets spread, people are quick to use it to fit their biases. So this pattern repeat every year.
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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024) PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022) |
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