The visit follows an invitation from Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, who conducted a diplomatic visit to Paraguay several months earlier.

A formal welcoming ceremony unfolded at the Knesset plaza, where President Peña arrived with a high-level delegation, including the parliament president, cabinet ministers, and additional lawmakers. The delegation participated in a meaningful signing ceremony in the Chagall State Hall, followed by press statements and a photo session, before meeting with Ohana in his office.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog hosted President Peña earlier in the day, opening with heartfelt remarks. "We are honored to host you and your wife here in Israel. Your arrival comes at a time when the Israeli public, people, and nation have endured and continue to endure an extraordinarily challenging, painful, and agonizing period. We have suffered the loss of our sons and daughters while 100 hostages remain captive in Gaza's tunnels."

In response, President Peña expressed his gratitude, stressing that he was "accompanied by a large and diverse delegation, including Congressional representatives from Paraguay. This demonstrates our support for Israel during these challenging times. But believe me, Mr. President, this was something we needed to do for ourselves. It represents a moral imperative from the Paraguayan people, and we carry with us the heart and spirit of over six million Paraguayans who feel deeply connected to the people of Israel. For us, this truly marks a historic turning point."

Speaking before the Knesset, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the assembly and said: "To the families of the hostages, our distinguished guests, and especially President Peña, my dear friend, and his wife Leticia – along with the esteemed Paraguayan delegation including the Speaker of the House – your significant visit, Mr. President, during our existential war fought on seven fronts against those seeking our destruction, merits exceptional recognition. During this conflict, we were deeply moved by your declaration that 'we will always stand with Israel, regardless of the cost – because this is the right side of history.'"

Netanyahu continued, adding that "taking a moral position isn't always the easy choice. Many turn away, many choose silence, thinking, 'this isn't our fight.' As a courageous, proactive leader, you chose engagement over indifference, and history will remember those who stood with Israel in its darkest hour. Our struggle is the struggle of all free nations.

"We face ruthless enemies, fanatics, barbarians. They attacked us with unspeakable brutality over a year ago. Their heinous crimes defy human description, and even the terrible footage only captures a fraction of these atrocities – the worst since the Holocaust. We are imposing severe consequences for their aggression, dismantling their infrastructure.

"Mr. President, the enduring friendship between Paraguay and Israel gains new significance today through your presence and this courageous alliance. Years ago, Paraguayan passports helped save hundreds, perhaps thousands of Jews from Nazi Germany, including my late father-in-law's family members. Shmuel Ben-Artzi found refuge in Paraguay when he fled.

"We face ruthless enemies, fanatics, barbarians. They attacked us with unspeakable brutality over a year ago. Their heinous crimes defy human description, and even the terrible footage only captures a fraction of these atrocities – the worst since the Holocaust. We are imposing severe consequences for their aggression, dismantling their infrastructure," Netanyahu said.

"President Santiago, dear friend, Israel stands at the heart of the Middle East. In this wild and turbulent region, we remain steadfast in our mission. We draw strength from our past, act decisively in the present, and work to shape the future. Your visit will strengthen the growing bonds between Paraguay and Israel. Together, we can achieve remarkable things.

"We admire the energy and experience you've brought to rejuvenate Paraguay toward a promising future. Israel eagerly seeks to assist you; we believe in sharing the fruits of progress with our friends rather than keeping them for ourselves.

"We will continue to defend ourselves resolutely against those who seek our destruction. Israel will persist in dismantling the terror networks of the Iran-led axis of evil."

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Some five years after Paraguay closed its embassy in Jerusalem, its new president, Santiago Peña announced Tuesday that the South American country will reopen it in the coming months. This would make it the fifth country to have relocated its embassy to the Israeli capital, after the US, Kosovo, Guatemala, and Honduras. 

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Peña, who was sworn in on Tuesday, met with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen just hours after his inauguration. Cohen said that he invited the leader "to make a presidential visit this year, during which he could rededicate the Paraguayan Embassy in Jerusalem." He added that Israel would also reciprocate by opening its embassy in Asunción, the country's capital. Peña said in response, "I am Israel's greatest friend." 

Video: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on Paraguay in 2018 / Reuters

According to Cohen the reopening of the embassy in Jerusalem "will bolster Israel's standing and the important ties between the two nations," adding that "we will continue strengthening the historical bond with Latin American countries, who have stood by Israel and the Jewish people." 

Paraguay moved its embassy to the capital in 2018 but several months later closed it after it elected a left-wing president. Israel was outraged and shut down its embassy in the country in response. 

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The competition, open to all, has attracted hundreds of applicants - some professionals, others youngsters dancing from lockdown in their homes. A panel of renowned expert judges assess each dance, and viewers can also vote with "likes."

"We were struck by the desire of participants to be seen, to express themselves and their dance, what is happening to them at the moment," said Argentine Facundo Luqui, who organized the '@stayhomedancecompetition' event with two other dancers.

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"What we thought when we started this project was that anyone can participate," added Luqui, 23, who is a member of the ballet company at Buenos Aires' iconic Teatro Colón.

The competition, which wraps up on Sunday, challenged dancers to raise awareness about the pandemic, reference the coronavirus, and honor an artist. In one video, a mother wearing a doctor's coat and a mask guards her daughter while she dances.

Giovana Soria, 18, a Paraguayan who has studied Latin rhythms for two years, said her dance was to encourage people to take steps to prevent infections spreading.

"I started to watch the news and saw that many people respected the quarantine, but when going out they did not take measures like putting on a mask, they touched everything and didn't wash their hands," said Soria.

Paz Schattenhofer, an 11-year-old who studies classical dance and who took part from Buenos Aires, said her performance was a homage to Russian photographer Yulia Artemyeva, who made a series of works comparing ballerinas to flowers.

"I would love to win it, but in reality it's to have fun. It is great when people 'like' you and that people see me, it is like a stage," she said.

Performance art globally has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, closing theaters and leaving dance troupes unable to perform or rehearse at close quarters.

"I think dance at the moment is undergoing a great crisis," said Manuela Lavalle, 24, another of the organizers, who dances in a company in the United States but is passing the quarantine in his native Buenos Aires.

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"It's complicated because many companies do not have the money they need to get by. I believe the world of dance is going to change a lot and we still do not know how, but it is a matter of waiting and continuing to create in the meantime."

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The announcement comes after Paraguay announced last September that it was moving its embassy in Israel out of Jerusalem and back to Tel Aviv, just months after a previous Paraguayan administration had opened the new mission.

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Israel responded by shutting its embassy in Paraguay and warning that ties between the countries would be "strained" by the decision. Its new ambassador to Paraguay will work from neighboring Argentina.

Israel had hoped to build on the momentum started by the US, Guatemala, and Paraguay, which all moved their embassies to Jerusalem in May 2018.

The government of Paraguay announced on Monday that it has designated Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organizations in a move that was praised by Israeli officials.

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Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz lauded President Mario Abdo Benítez's administration for what he described as the "struggle against Iranian-sponsored" terrorism.

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"This decision contributes in the international struggle against Iranian-sponsored Hamas and Hezbollah terror," Katz said.

"I call on other states to join Paraguay and recognize these groups as terrorist organizations. We will continue to work to see that these organizations are recognized as terrorist groups everywhere. The entire world must unite to fight against the terror that Iran and its proxies are spreading."

Meanwhile, Bloomberg news reported Monday that Brazil is currently in talks over a similar move that would see Lebanon's Hezbollah designated a terror group.

Senior officials in Brazilia are looking to advance the idea but reportedly lack support across the board for such a move following concerns over the government's relationship with Iran, a direct patron of the Shiite paramilitary outfit.

Tehran currently imports some $2.5 billion in goods from Brazil a year, which could be significantly impacted by the designation.

Brazilian law also presents numerous difficulties, including not having a standardized definition of terrorism. The country deems as terrorist organizations only those groups labeled as such by the UN Security Council, including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

"Brazil's legal definition of terrorism is narrow; foreign and national concepts on this topic tend to clash," legal scholar and expert in anti-terror Brazilian laws Rogerio Sanches Cunha said.

"There can be serious consequences, for example creating friction with Iran and other countries with a relevant number of Shiites, such as Lebanon," he added.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is said to be in favor of the designation as he seeks to align his foreign policy goals with the United States and build stronger ties with the Trump administration.

Paraguay and Argentina are the only Latin American countries to have designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, with the latter holding the group responsible for the bombing of a Jewish community center that killed 85 people in 1994.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS.

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