Argentine President Javier Milei concluded his Tuesday itinerary in Israel with a meeting with the nation’s president, Isaac Herzog, in which the two exchanged gifts and Milei expressed “concrete” support for the nation in its war against the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas.
Milei’s visit, which began on Tuesday afternoon with a spiritual visit to the Western Wall, is his first official state visit to a foreign nation as president. Milei, an unprecedented libertarian third-party candidate, won the presidency of Argentina in November and was inaugurated a month later, vowing to dramatically shift the nation’s foreign policy to prioritize Israel and the United States.
“My first trip will be to the United States … and then I will be traveling to Israel, so those will be the first trips I will make,” Milei said in November. He indeed traveled to America in November, as president-elect, to visit a Jewish holy site – the Ohel, burial site of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in New York. Milei, born and raised a Catholic, has openly discussed conversion to Judaism and suggested he may take the path after this presidential term ends.
Prior to Milei, Argentina had experienced nearly two decades of socialist rule – except for the brief one-term administration of center-right former President Mauricio Macri – in which the Peronist leftist establishment emphasized friendship with rogue states such as China, Russia, and Iran.
“First of all, it is indeed an honour and great pleasure for me to be in Israel. As I have said repeatedly, I have been committed since day one to making sure that my first diplomatic visit as President would be to the State of Israel,” Milei said in a statement following talks with Herzog at the presidential residence in Jerusalem, according to the Israeli Government Press Office. “Here I am, keeping my promise now, and let me also say that it fills me with joy to have had a spiritual visit as my first activity – which was a visit to the Kotel (Western Wall).”
Milei described his presence in Israel as a “concrete testimony to the commitment we’ve had from the very first day of the terrorist attack by Hamas on 7 October, which we have strongly condemned.”
“We not only condemned the terrorist actions by Hamas, but also express our solidarity with the State of Israel, and have continued to support Israel’s right to legitimate self-defense in this context,” he added.
Milei also told Herzog that his administration would be moving forward with protocol to designate Hamas – an Iran-backed Sunni terrorist outfit based in Gaza – a terrorist organization and is promoting legislation in Argentina’s Congress demanding the safe return of Hamas’s hostages.
The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, meets with the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, in the Israeli presidential residence in Jerusalem on February 6, 2023. (Haim Zach GPO)
Hamas executed an unprecedented terrorist assault against Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,200 people in door-to-door attacks on residential communities and engaging in widespread torture, gang-rape, abductions, and other atrocities. Of the estimated 250 hostages stolen from Israel, 11 of those still missing are Argentine nationals, Milei noted.
In his statement following the private meeting with Milei, President Herzog thanked Milei for his “love and affection, both for the Jewish people and the nation state of the Jewish people the State of Israel,” and praised Argentina’s “unique relationship” with Israel.
“You will be visiting a country that was attacked brutally on 7 October by a brutal terrorist organization, which carried out a barbaric and sadistic attack on the people of Israel, and has taken hostage hundreds of people,” Herzog said. “Now we have 136 hostages in Gaza, we are praying and working tirelessly to bring them back home as soon as possible.”
“I know that you’re supporting this fight, and I’m delivering the message through you to the entire world as well: We want them home as soon as possible,” Herzog continued. “This cannot wait any longer. Their suffering is immense. And this is against any rules of human values.”
Herzog promised Milei, “the Jewish people and the State of Israel will always remember who stood by us in these dire times, and you are clearly one of the greatest leaders who came forward and are here with us today.”
Milei and Herzog exchanged gifts: According to the Israeli presidential office, Herzog offered the Argentine president a copy of the Hebrew Bible “in appreciation of his firm support for the State of Israel and the Jewish people.” The Argentine newspaper Clarín reported that Milei offered Herzog alfajores – an iconic Argentine cookie featuring dulce de leche – and a crystal goblet, “to express a desire for prosperity and peace, and a symbol of hope, strength, and fortitude before adversity.”
The meeting with Herzog was Milei’s second stop in Israel. The first was to the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism, where he prayed and greeted a crowd of supporters who had convened to see him. Milei toured the site with Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, and could be seen visibly crying during the spiritual moment.
Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart NewsMilei has scheduled a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a tour of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, a meeting with families of the victims of the October 7 Hamas attack, and a tour of Kibbutz Nir Oz, a residential community devastated by Hamas on October 7.
Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart News
Following his stay in Israel, Milei is expected to travel to Rome, where he will meet with Pope Francis, the first Argentine head of the Catholic Church. Milei is also expected to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
