[1] Starting in 1880, Argentine governments had a policy of massive immigration, and the liberal tendencies of the Roca administration were instrumental in making European Jews feel welcome.
Maurice de Hirsch sponsored the Jewish Colonization Association, initially promoted by French rabbi Zadoc Kahn, for the support of agricultural settlements, and the idea was seriously considered as an alternative to Palestine by leading Zionists.
In these circles, the Andinia Plan was sometimes assumed to be a fact, even though the Zionist movement had abandoned all plans related to Argentina decades earlier,[3] and Argentine Jewish institutions (headed by Delegación de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas) were recognized by (and conversant with) all Argentine governments, including military juntas.
Many Israelis tour South America, some of them immediately after their military service as a gap year experience, with Patagonia being a favored destination.
[9] On December 27, 2011, Israeli tourist Rother Singer started an accidental fire in Torres del Paine National Park, Chilean Patagonia.