Palestine on trial in Argentina

Anderson and brian: In our last interview, you were about to go on trial and stressed that you wanted to face it head-on rather than accept probation. Could you start by telling us what happened in the trial itself, how you took it on “head-on,” and what has developed since then?

Alejandro Bogart: As I said before, we refused to accept any sort of deal. DAIA tried to propose an agreement, but we rejected it outright and refused every negotiation option. These kinds of trials always involve some pre-trial bargaining, but we didn’t go down that road. We believe it’s important to confront these accusations openly and use them as an opportunity to continue fighting for the Palestinian cause.

So far there have been four stages in the courts. In the first, the judge ruled there was no probable cause. He actually defended my right to speak out on the conflict and recommended that no trial be held. But the Appeals Chamber overruled him and ordered the case to proceed. That first trial was the most democratic, because it allowed witnesses. And we brought many: from a Nobel Peace Prize laureate to leaders of the Left, but also members of the Jewish community here in Argentina who are themselves anti-Zionist, and one of the most recognized relatives of the victim of a bombing of a Jewish community center in 1994.

In that first trial, I was acquitted. But DAIA appealed, and the higher court—this time without witnesses, without testimony—convicted me. That’s where things stand today: I am currently under conviction by that tribunal. We appealed, and the hearing took place two months ago, but we are still waiting for a ruling. We don’t know why it is taking so long. They are supposed to decide whether to uphold the conviction or to acquit me.

Whatever happens, we know there will be further appeals. If the ruling goes in my favor, DAIA will appeal. If it goes against me, we will appeal. Either way, it will go to the highest court. Of course, having two convictions already on the record is not encouraging—up to now it’s been two rulings in my favor, one against. But this is a political case, not one about justice. What I’m doing is denouncing genocide.

In Argentina we know very well what genocide means—we lived through one ourselves. We know the role that judges and politicians played, and how many of those who were accomplices later faced judgment and even imprisonment. That’s what I told the court in my closing statement: that they had to decide whether they wanted to be accomplices to a genocide.

So really, I’m wrongly the one in the dock. The ones who should be there are my accusers, because they are the ones supporting genocide. It should be the President of the Republic on trial, since he has openly endorsed that genocide.

We’ll see what the court does, but they must know that here in Argentina—as everywhere in the world—the Palestinian cause is growing stronger by the day. Zionism is increasingly isolated, even though it still wields enormous economic power here. In fact, after the United States, Argentina may be the place where it has the greatest influence outside of Israel. That matters. We not only have a pro-Zionist president, but also Zionist organizations with great political and economic weight in Argentina.

We understand this is a political trial. We’ll keep fighting, regardless of the outcome. I’m not particularly optimistic, because the judiciary is deeply compromised—colonized, really—by the political powers of the day, and the current government is openly pro-Zionist.

But real justice isn’t what gets decided in these courtrooms—it’s what society itself decides. People stop me in the street to show their support. That’s the true verdict. For now, we’re waiting for the ruling—hopefully it will come soon. And if it’s negative, we’ll appeal and continue on to the Supreme Court.

Anderson and brian: At the time, you described your case as a “landmark trial” that could set a dangerous precedent for silencing criticism of Israel. Looking back now, do you think that prediction was accurate? How has your case shaped the political and legal landscape around freedom of expression in Argentina?

Alejandro: Well, I still believe that. For example, when I was convicted in that second instance, other cases were immediately activated against other people. Another left-wing leader Vanina Biasi, from a different party in the Left Front, for instance, suddenly had a case launched against her. That didn’t happen when I was acquitted—it only came after my conviction.

I think that, since my case is the most developed, the outcome will determine whether other judges feel encouraged to keep going after other leaders and other voices. What they want is to silence those of us with the greatest reach—those who can connect with people and have access to the media. They want to make an example out of us. In fact, my conviction was circulated worldwide. Zionist media all over the world—even in Israel, newspapers there—reported on that conviction.

So I think that if we manage to overturn it, it will also be a blow against Zionism, because they will have failed to break us. On the contrary, we’ve pushed forward. Here in Argentina, Milei’s attacks on labor and social rights were so massive that, for a while, it was difficult for the Palestinian cause to spark large mobilizations.

But that has changed. Recently there have been huge demonstrations in Argentina, and at the end of this month [August 2025] we will march in one that will be even bigger and more massive. The voices are expanding all the time. Even the media blockade has been broken: People who had previously kept silent have been forced to speak out.

I think this is tied to the global situation, to the monstrosities Israel is carrying out: seeing children starve to death or being shot when they line up for food because they are being deliberately starved. All of that has had a tremendous impact. Just two days ago, they voted to move directly to expel the population—the total ethnic cleansing of Gaza. That will only generate more outrage.

We know that Netanyahu’s government, as it weakens and faces internal crisis—there have even been marches inside Israel—is trying to push forward. The more internal turmoil there is, the more they attempt to get out of it by pushing even harder on this path.

Anderson and brian: In our last conversation, you explained how DAIA uses the weaponized International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. How have you seen their broader strategy played out?

Alejandro: Yes. That’s DAIA’s main argument—and the broader Zionist argument internationally: to push legal cases and try to change the definition of antisemitism. For them, criticizing the State of Israel is antisemitic. Criticizing Zionism is antisemitic.

It’s absurd, because it would make Israel the only state in the world that you’re not allowed to criticize. If you do, you risk going to prison. You can criticize any of the other two hundred states on Earth—except Israel. The same goes for Zionism: It’s a far-right political ideology. You can criticize any other political current in the world with no problem, but if you criticize Zionism—which is not the same as the Jewish people, because the Jewish people are divided; some are Zionist, but many are anti-Zionist—they come after you.

They’re using this strategy to try to silence criticism.

Anderson and brian: You also stressed that Milei’s government had given this repression new traction. Almost a year later, how do you see the relationship between the Milei government, Zionist organizations like DAIA, and the broader attacks on democratic rights?

Alejandro: Well, just recently—about a month ago—Milei was awarded the “Jewish Nobel Prize” [the Genesis Prize, created in conjunction with the Israeli state] for supporting the State of Israel, along with a prize of one million dollars. He is deeply tied to Israel. I’d say he is, along with Trump, the political figure most identified with the Israeli state.

He even tried to bring Netanyahu here. He invited him, though Netanyahu pulled back a bit when he realized such a visit could trigger massive mobilizations in Argentina. But it hasn’t been ruled out. The government’s plan is still to bring Netanyahu. That would be outrageous, given that Netanyahu is under indictment by the International Criminal Court. We’ll see if they dare.

Milei is fully in tow to Zionism, and he has the mass media completely lined up. All the outlets here display the Israeli flag, and some of the political programs most closely linked to the government openly function as propaganda machines, spreading lies and portraying Israel as the victim.

And the courts back all of this, because they have the political power of the government behind them. There is no such thing as independent justice anywhere in the world—least of all in Argentina. The judiciary here has always been tied to power. Let’s remember: during the dictatorship, while people were disappearing, the courts looked the other way. They have always been complicit with the government of the day.

That is what sustains all of this. And yes, the repression goes beyond the Palestinian cause. This government has changed the regime. It is no longer the same bourgeois-democratic regime that existed before Milei took office. There has been a shift. Today we live under a very repressive state. Practically every mobilization ends with people being detained—people who have done practically nothing. Peaceful demonstrations are brutally repressed. They are even building intelligence services that investigate people without going through the courts. We are living through a change of regime in Argentina.

What they haven’t achieved, despite all of this, is stopping the mobilizations. On the contrary, they are growing. Just this afternoon I came from a demonstration in front of Congress. There are emblematic struggles, many of them led by the Left. Our comrades have been leading the main conflict for the past three months: the fight to defend the country’s most important pediatric hospital, which this government wants to dismantle. The attack is brutal—but so too is the resistance of the people.

Anderson and brian: How has the solidarity campaign around your case developed? What lessons do you think the Left, both in Argentina and internationally, should take from your experience in facing this kind of repression?

Alejandro: Well, there’s been very broad unity around my case, across the entire Left. All of the Left has stood in solidarity, and that has allowed us to develop countless actions and mobilizations. Practically every action in support of Palestine—and here there are marches almost every day—includes my case. In fact, there is hardly a single demonstration where one of the slogans isn’t about my freedom, where there isn’t a repudiation of this criminalization.

That has been very important. As I mentioned, the number of witnesses who testified in my favor included very prominent figures in the country: people from the Jewish community, artists, and political leaders from across the broader Left. From the center-left there’s been a little support, but very little—they’ve been quite cowardly. But the Left has real weight, and that has been decisive.

I also think the courts are taking so much time to hand down the ruling because they know there will be a response. And now we’re starting to see the same kind of unity building around the new cases being opened, like that of Vanina Biasi. The solidarity has been enormous—really enormous—and it has a constant impact.

Anderson and brian: Finally, how do you see your case fitting into the global picture — where we’ve seen attacks on Palestine solidarity in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere? Do you see signs that this repression is weakening, or is it intensifying?

Alejandro: It’s hard for me to measure whether it’s getting better or worse, but I think it certainly continues. For example, in the United Kingdom they outlawed Palestine Action, a direct action group organizing mostly against weapons manufacturers, accusing it of being “terrorist.” And because there was so much solidarity in response, they’ve now turned to labeling everyone who defends that organization as a terrorist too.

I think there’s a global double standard at work. Governments, under social pressure, say they will recognize Palestine as a state—two states, etc.—but at the same time they keep sending weapons. They criticize Netanyahu’s actions, but then repress those who defend the Palestinian cause. They need to repress, because they need that state not to collapse.

In my view, Israel is very isolated. It is managing to massacre people—children included—but it is not managing to win, because every child they kill brings more people over to the Palestinian cause. Politically, Israel is increasingly isolated internationally. That’s why I think they’ll keep trying to silence us. But for every one voice they manage to silence, a hundred more appear. And then there are people like us — “crazy” people like us—who will never be silenced.

I told the judge in my case: if you convict me, I will keep saying exactly the same thing. So you’ll have to convict me again for repeat offense. And if that means going to prison for refusing to stay silent, then that’s what we must do—because it’s part of supporting the Palestinian cause.

There are artists, for instance, in Ireland and the United Kingdom, who use their platforms to speak out about Gaza and to defend Palestine Action, and the British government threatens to label those artists terrorists as well. But they keep doing it, because many people are willing to make sacrifices for this cause, even at personal risk.

That shows why Israel will lose. Strategically, it has already lost, because it can no longer fool the world into believing it is the victim. More and more people around the globe know this is genocide, and that Israel’s very existence as a state is being questioned.

Anderson and brian: Thank you, is there anything else you want to add?

Alejandro: I just want to emphasize that this cause belongs to humanity as a whole. It goes beyond ideology—even beyond those of us on the Left. For nearly eighty years we’ve been raising the banner of solidarity with Palestine, but for a long time it was the cause of a small minority. Today, it’s a cause of the masses worldwide.

I think anyone with even the most basic sense of humanity has to stand with the Palestinian people. As we often say here: If someone saw a child in the street and then saw another person come up and shoot that child in the head, everyone would be horrified—no one would jump to defend the killer of an innocent child. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening. Right now, twenty-eight children are dying every day in Palestine.

That reality moves people deeply, and I believe it is fueling a global rebellion that sooner or later will bring down the monster. We have to keep going forward.