On January 5, 2026, wildfires broke out in Argentina’s Patagonia region, specifically in the province of Chubut, and have since burned more than 20,000 hectares of land. Nine days later, former Congressman Matt Gaetz claimed on One America News that Jews were responsible for starting the Patagonia wildfires as part of a “master plan to create a Jewish ethnostate in the Americas.” The claim represents a recycling of a decades-old conspiracy theory with no basis in fact.

Gaetz argued that discussions by Argentine officials about repealing a ban on selling burned land are part of a plot in which Jews plan to burn land, buy it cheaply, and then resettle it. To support his claim, Gaetz asserted that Israeli-made grenades had been found near the burn sites, and aired a soundbite from an Argentine woman alleging that Israelis started the fires. Gaetz also pointed to the fact that some Jewish activists in the late 19th century briefly considered Argentina as a possible temporary refuge for Jews before Zionism ultimately centered on Israel, where Jews are historically indigenous.

Later, on X, Gaetz attempted to bolster his claim by citing a CNN article about a wildfire in Chile that was accidentally started by an Israeli tourist who smoked in a restricted area. However, the facts thoroughly contradict Gaetz’s narrative.

Gaetz’s claim is a decades-old conspiracy theory known as the Andinia Plan, which originated in Argentina in 1971 and has since been promoted by Islamist and neo-Nazi groups for over 50 years. The allegation that Israeli-made M26 grenades were found near the fires is false. Argentina’s fact-checking outlet Chequeado confirmed that only one grenade was found, and it was an FMK-2 grenade manufactured by Fabricaciones Militares, a state-owned Argentine arms company, something later confirmed by the provincial government.

Large wildfires in Patagonia are not unusual. In early 2025 alone, nearly 32,000 hectares burned in the region. In 2005, a Czech tourist in Patagonia accidentally overturned a gas stove, triggering a wildfire that burned roughly 15,000 hectares, yet no one accused Czechs of plotting to colonize Argentina. The CNN article Gaetz cited involved a wildfire in Chile, not Argentina, and was caused by an accident, not sabotage.

Local officials say that claims blaming Jews for the fires are “an invention” and believe the fire may have been deliberately set amid a local land dispute. No documents, official statements, or admissions from Zionist organizations, the Israeli government, or prominent Jewish figures have ever emerged to support the existence of a coordinated Andinia Plan to seize land in Patagonia.

In the 19th century, some Jewish leaders, including Baron Maurice de Hirsch, briefly considered Argentina, along with other places like Uganda, as a temporary refuge from Eastern European pogroms. This was driven by urgent safety concerns rather than any doubt about the historical Jewish connection to Israel. Hirsch viewed Jewish agricultural colonies in Argentina as a path toward integration, not territorial independence. The First Zionist Congress in 1897 reaffirmed Israel, then called British Mandated Palestine, as Zionism’s sole national objective, effectively ending any serious consideration of Argentina as a temporary refuge.

Large-scale land purchases since the 1990s have been dominated by non-Jewish entities, including the Italian-owned Benetton Group and British billionaire Joe Lewis, largely for ranching, tourism, and resource development. Argentina’s Jewish population, estimated at around 175,000, is overwhelmingly concentrated in major urban centers such as Buenos Aires, with over 90 percent living outside Patagonia.

Argentine President Javier Milei responded to the conspiracy theory, stating, “They use Israel and the Jews to attack the government, and it got completely out of hand.”

The claim that Jews set wildfires in Argentina to create a Jewish ethnostate is not supported by evidence and relies on a completely false conspiracy theory. The facts show no link between Jews or Israelis and the fires, no credible plan to purchase land in Patagonia, and no demographic or historical basis for the accusation. What is real are recurring wildfires, local land disputes, and the continued spread of an old myth dressed up as breaking news by a former congressman willing to amplify dangerous falsehoods.