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<\/a><\/p>\nArgentina’s Frente de Izquierda deputies Romina del Pla, Miryam Bregman, and Nicolas Del Cano (from left) sit at their desks during the oath ceremony at the Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Congress in Buenos Aires on Dec. 3, 2025. (Juan Mabromata \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The demonstration by the left-wing elected officials transformed what is typically a boilerplate ceremony into a political showdown over Israel, with shouting on the floor of the legislature as well as a wave of criticism from both pro-government and opposition voices.<\/p>\n
Argentina\u2019s main Jewish umbrella organization filed a formal complaint over the incident, which took place on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
At least four lawmakers participated. When left-wing deputy Nicol\u00e1s del Ca\u00f1o was called to the podium, he used his brief time to swear on behalf of \u201cthe boys and girls massacred in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another leftist lawmaker, Nestor Pitrola, took the oath wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh draped like a scarf and swore \u201cfor an end to the Zionist genocide and a free Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wearing a T-shirt with a large watermelon print \u2014 now used as a Palestinian symbol \u2014 Romina Del Pl\u00e1 took the oath declaring that she did so \u201cfor Palestine\u2019s right to exist from the river to the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Myriam Bregman, a Jewish socialist, swore \u201cagainst the genocide in Palestine.\u201d She also protested the U.S. threat to Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, saying, \u201cYankees out of Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of them replaced the formula for the oath of office \u2014 \u201cS\u00ed, juro\u201d (I swear) \u2014 with political statements, triggering an immediate backlash in the chamber.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers from President Javier Milei\u2019s right-wing and libertarian coalition interrupted with boos and shouted insults, arguing that the oath should not be used for foreign-policy slogans. Lila Lemoine, a member of Milei\u2019s party, rebuked Bregman, to whom she was formerly close, saying, \u201cYou must swear for your country.\u201d<\/p>\n
While largely left-wing lawmakers in countries around the world have sought to demonstrate their solidarity with the Palestinians or advanced legislation on their behalf, the show in Argentina represented an unusual level of intrusion for the cause into a government\u2019s regular operations.<\/p>\n
After these oath-taking ceremonies \u2014 broadcast nationwide by major media outlets \u2014 political analysts and journalists strongly criticized the lawmakers who departed from the established protocol. Later in the week, a legislator introduced a bill that would prevent those who do not take the oath in accordance with the chamber\u2019s regulations from assuming their seats.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s put an end to this circus,\u201d said the lawmaker, Sabrina Ajmechet, who is Jewish and from a right-wing political party. She added, \u201cThat there are members of parliament who have taken office swearing allegiance to another territory \u2026 it\u2019s more than just ugly, it\u2019s problematic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether the lawmakers who made the unusual oaths will face consequences is not clear. The Argentine government adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which defines some forms of Israel criticism as antisemitic, in 2020, adding to an anti-discrimination law that has been on the books since 1988. There is already one lawmaker facing prosecution over antisemitic posts.<\/p>\n
Argentina\u2019s Jewish political umbrella, DAIA, said in a statement that the oaths, particularly those using the phrase \u201cfrom the river to the sea,\u201d which many Jews interpret as a call for Israel\u2019s destruction, were inappropriate for the occasion and amounted to discrimination.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis expression is neither a neutral slogan nor a simple protest chant. It is a phrase of hate, used to call for the destruction of a sovereign state and the elimination of its Jewish population. It promotes violence, legitimizes terrorism, and fuels an atmosphere of hostility toward Jews everywhere,\u201d the statement said. \u201cBy using it, one makes an openly anti-Jewish declaration, incompatible with democratic values and with respect for pluralistic coexistence.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pro-Palestinian lawmakers were not the only ones to depart from the standard oath, which is taken over the text of the Bible. Patricia Holzman, a newly elected Jewish deputy who has been the executive director of a Jewish community organization founded in the wake of the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, adjusted her wording to say \u201cS\u00ed, prometo\u201d (I promise) instead of \u201cS\u00ed, juro,\u201d and she pledged her oath on a Tanakh.<\/p>\n
The swearing-in ceremony was also derailed when a left-wing lawmaker, Juan Grabois, made what resembled a Nazi salute toward Milei, who was present. People close to Grabois said the gesture was meant to evoke the salute in \u201cThe Hunger Games,\u201d the young-adult series about protagonists defying an oppressive regime.<\/p>\n