Thousands Rally Across Colombia as Embassy Opens in Jerusalem
(MENAFN) Thousands of Colombians poured into streets nationwide on Wednesday in a fierce backlash against Israel’s war in Gaza and a sweeping foreign policy reversal: the opening of a Colombian embassy in Jerusalem.
In Bogota, hundreds of students, social movement activists and other demonstrators marched with Palestinian flags, condemning President Abelardo de la Espriella for restoring diplomatic relations with Israel. The rallies formed part of a countrywide mobilization against the conservative leader’s domestic and foreign agenda, especially his push to deepen ties with Israel and move closer to the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Marchers hoisted banners reading “We are not your backyard” and shouted slogans such as “No to American interventionism” and “Zionists out, Gringos out, Abelardo out.” Demonstrators in the capital also set a US flag on fire.
The unrest coincided with the formal inauguration of the Jerusalem embassy, which overturns the previous government’s break with Israel. De la Espriella, who took office in August, revived relations that former President Gustavo Petro severed in 2024 over the Gaza war. His government has also reinstated a free trade agreement with Israel that was suspended under Petro.
Foreign Minister Omar Bula attended the ceremony in Jerusalem and presented the move as a boost to bilateral ties. He asserted that relations between the two countries “should never have been broken.”
“Israel is a strategic partner. It always has been, and from now on, it will be an even stronger one,” he said.
He added that the embassy opening represented “a concrete step towards fully restoring bilateral relations,”
Palestinian officials denounced the inauguration, cautioning that the decision erodes international law and undercuts Colombia’s long-held diplomatic stance on the Israeli-Palestinian war.
In Bogota, hundreds of students, social movement activists and other demonstrators marched with Palestinian flags, condemning President Abelardo de la Espriella for restoring diplomatic relations with Israel. The rallies formed part of a countrywide mobilization against the conservative leader’s domestic and foreign agenda, especially his push to deepen ties with Israel and move closer to the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Marchers hoisted banners reading “We are not your backyard” and shouted slogans such as “No to American interventionism” and “Zionists out, Gringos out, Abelardo out.” Demonstrators in the capital also set a US flag on fire.
The unrest coincided with the formal inauguration of the Jerusalem embassy, which overturns the previous government’s break with Israel. De la Espriella, who took office in August, revived relations that former President Gustavo Petro severed in 2024 over the Gaza war. His government has also reinstated a free trade agreement with Israel that was suspended under Petro.
Foreign Minister Omar Bula attended the ceremony in Jerusalem and presented the move as a boost to bilateral ties. He asserted that relations between the two countries “should never have been broken.”
“Israel is a strategic partner. It always has been, and from now on, it will be an even stronger one,” he said.
He added that the embassy opening represented “a concrete step towards fully restoring bilateral relations,”
Palestinian officials denounced the inauguration, cautioning that the decision erodes international law and undercuts Colombia’s long-held diplomatic stance on the Israeli-Palestinian war.
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