Legislators from a dozen Latin American countries gathered in Buenos Aires in late June for a three-day summit that organizers are calling one of the largest parliamentary gatherings focused on Israel-Latin America relations held in the region. The Latin America Chairmen’s Conference, sponsored jointly by the Israel Allies Foundation (IAF) and the American Friends of Isaac Accords (AFOIA), brought together chairs of parliamentary Israel Allies Caucuses from 12 countries, senior lawmakers, ambassadors and religious leaders to formalize a shared commitment to strengthening ties between their nations and the Jewish state.
Stan Polovets, chairman and co-founder of The Genesis Prize Foundation, described the summit as a milestone in translating an idea into action. “The Buenos Aires summit marks a major step in translating President Milei’s vision of the Isaac Accords into parliamentary action,” Polovets said. “We are pleased to see it take place on the heels of the announcement of the Isaac Accords Fund launch by the Inter-American Development Fund and the establishment of the Global Partnership of the Isaac Accords by the American Jewish Committee. By working together, we will build strong and enduring ties between Latin America and Israel, ties that will benefit tens of millions of people across the region.”
The Genesis Prize Foundation established AFOIA in 2025 to advance economic, cultural and diplomatic cooperation between Israel and Latin American countries. The organization operates at the intersection of public and private diplomacy, connecting governments across the region, the United States and Israel with private-sector leaders, civil society groups and Jewish communal organizations. Its involvement in the Buenos Aires conference reflects a broader pattern in Stan Polovets’ philanthropic work: identifying a pressing cause, then building institutional infrastructure capable of sustaining it over years rather than a single news cycle.
The Isaac Accords and Their Origins
The framework at the center of the summit, known as the Isaac Accords, was conceived by Argentine President Javier Milei, who received the 2025 Genesis Prize in recognition of his outspoken support for Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Drawing inspiration from the Abraham Accords, the Isaac Accords initiative seeks to extend a framework of deepened economic and security cooperation, technological partnership, and support for Israel to Latin America, grounded in what organizers describe as shared Judeo-Christian values.
Milei delivered the conference’s keynote address, framing the effort in stark terms: “We are responsible for uniting Latin America on the right side: toward life, freedom, and democracy,” he told attendees. “The main objective of these Accords is to defend basic values. Global antisemitism, far from retreating after the Holocaust, has reorganized itself. The most recent example is the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, in which more than 1,200 people were killed, and more than 250 were taken hostage, including 21 Argentines. That is why the response must also be sustained over time.”
That framing resonates with a theme Stan Polovets has returned to across multiple platforms tied to The Genesis Prize Foundation: the notion that recognition and philanthropy are strengthened when paired with sustained, structural follow-through. The foundation’s approach to Milei’s prize offers a case study. Rather than treating his 2025 selection as a symbolic gesture, the foundation used the recognition as a launching point for AFOIA and, subsequently, for direct involvement in convening the Buenos Aires conference itself.
What the Summit Produced
Nearly 20 legislators representing 12 countries traveled to Buenos Aires for the gathering. According to conference organizers, the concrete commitments to emerge from the three days included the signing of the Isaac Accords principles by legislators, pledges to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, commitments from participating lawmakers to champion the relocation of their nations’ embassies to Jerusalem, and coordinated efforts to strengthen legislative frameworks aimed at combating terrorism and extremism throughout the region.
Josh Reinstein, president of the Israel Allies Foundation, characterized the gathering as a turning point for the region’s relationship with Israel. “This conference marks a defining moment as we call on courageous parliamentarians across the region to fully embrace the Isaac Accords and take the historic step of moving their nations’ embassies to Jerusalem, Israel’s undivided capital,” Reinstein said. He added that the IAF’s approach, which he described as faith-based diplomacy, is “forging an unbreakable alliance between Israel and Latin America,” framing the region’s strengthened partnership with Israel as a choice rooted in shared values rather than transactional politics.
Deputy Sabrina Ajmechet, co-chair of the IAF Caucus in Argentina, welcomed the delegates on behalf of the host country, noting the scale of the turnout: legislators from all over Latin America convening in a single Buenos Aires venue. “Argentina is a steadfast ally of Israel at this critical moment, and our two nations share fundamental values: democracy, freedom, and pluralism,” she said.
Ambassador S. Fitzgerald Haney, who serves as The Genesis Prize Foundation’s managing director for Latin America and oversees AFOIA, situated the conference within the organization’s broader theory of change. “AFOIA operates at the crossroads of public and private diplomacy, and co-sponsoring this conference is a direct expression of our core conviction: that Israel’s long-term security is built relationship by relationship, legislature by legislature, friendship by friendship,” Haney said. “Latin America is stepping up.”
A Consistent Thread in Stan Polovets’ Philanthropic Approach
For those who have followed The Genesis Prize Foundation‘s work over the past decade, the Buenos Aires summit fits a recognizable pattern. Since its founding in 2013, the foundation has built a track record of using its annual $1 million award to seed initiatives well beyond the ceremony itself. Laureates have redirected their prize money into causes ranging from disability inclusion to Holocaust remembrance, and the foundation has, on several occasions, moved from individual recognition to institution-building when circumstances called for it.
Milei’s selection as the 2025 laureate marked the first time a sitting head of state received the Genesis Prize. Stan Polovets and the foundation’s selection committee cited his vocal defense of Israel after Oct. 7 as central to the decision. The creation of AFOIA gave Genesis a dedicated vehicle for advancing the kind of parliamentary diplomacy on display in Buenos Aires.
Rabbi Axel Wahnish, Argentina’s ambassador to Israel, and recognized by Polovets as being “critical to the development of the Isaac Accords,” offered a summary of the underlying logic behind the Isaac Accords at the conference. “The basic initiative of the Isaac Accords is that Argentina should serve as the driving force for all the countries in the region, committed to freedom, liberty and democracy, and uniting them in the global fight against terrorism and antisemitism led by the United States and Israel,” he said.
Leopoldo Martínez, the Israel Allies Foundation’s Latin America director, pointed to the scale of parliamentary participation as evidence that the alliance between Israel and the region has entered a new stage. “This conference is a powerful testament to the extraordinary parliamentary support for Israel that exists throughout Latin America,” he said. “The legislators gathered here are shaping a new chapter in this relationship, built on shared values, a commitment to democracy, and a determination to stand with Israel when it matters most.”
Looking at the Broader Picture
The Buenos Aires summit took place amid a period of heightened antisemitism and challenges to Israel’s standing on the world stage, making the scale of parliamentary buy-in from so many Latin American countries notable on its own terms. It also illustrates how The Genesis Prize Foundation, under Stan Polovets’ leadership, has continued to expand its definition of philanthropic impact well past its original mandate of honoring individual laureates.
The Israel Allies Foundation, which coordinates more than 1,600 legislators worldwide through 64 parliamentary caucuses, brought its existing network to the table, while AFOIA supplied the connective tissue between governments, private-sector leaders and Jewish communal organizations. For Stan Polovets, whose foundation has already leveraged its $1 million annual prize into more than $50 million in grants across 31 countries, the Buenos Aires conference represents another instance of a familiar approach: identify a moment of political will, then build the institutional support needed to convert that will into lasting commitments.