Argentina’s Milei Arrives in Israel for Tour in Support of War on Hamas

Argentine President Javier Milei arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Tuesday afternoon (local time) as part of a three-day visit to the country.

By Christian K. Caruzo, BREITBART                               6 February 2024

The trip marks Milei’s first official state visit as Argentina’s head of state following his inauguration in December and following his trip to Davos, Switzerland, in January, in which he did not engage in any official events with Swiss leaders.

Milei’s travel to Israel also marks the first time in 40 years that an Argentine president visits a country in a state of war. Following his visit to Israel, Milei will continue his three-country tour with stops in Italy and the Vatican.

Upon arriving, Milei explained that the purpose of his visit was to fulfill the promise he made to make Israel his first international destination as president.

“First, to fulfill my promise to make my first diplomatic trip to Israel. And secondly, to express my support to Israel against the attacks of the terrorist group Hamas, to make explicit my solidarity with Israel and to vindicate its legitimate right to defense,” Milei said. “In addition to continuing to deepen our commercial ties, especially those of such affection.”

Milei also confirmed Argentina’s decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

Milei’s February 6-9 agenda in Israel will include official meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, a visit to the Western Wall, and an encounter with the families of the hostages held captive by Hamas in the aftermath of the October 7 terrorist attack.

He is accompanied in Israel by a small delegation composed of Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino, his sister and General Secretary of the Presidency Karina Milei, and Rabbi Shimon Axel Wahnish, the designated new Argentine ambassador to Israel.

“On the way to Rome. Final destination Jerusalem. Long live liberty, damn it!” Milei wrote on his Instagram account on Monday afternoon moments before the commercial airplane took off.

Bringing a smaller delegation, the Argentine news outlet Infobae reported, allows for the visit to comply with the strictest security conditions established by Argentina’s military officials and AFI intelligence agency in cooperation with Israel’s Shin Bet, Mossad, and the Israel Defense Force (IDF).

Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni explained the basic details of Milei’s flight to Israel during his Monday morning press conference.

“Today, at 1:45 p.m., the President leaves from Ezeiza [airport] to Israel with a stopover in Rome,” Adorni said. “The flight will arrive, always on local time, at 6:40 a.m. in Rome, and at 10:10 a.m. he will take another flight to Tel Aviv, where he will be landing at 2:30 p.m.”

According to local Argentine media, Milei will kick off his Israel tour on Tuesday afternoon (local time) by visiting the Western Wall, where he will be received by rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz. A book signing, prayer and study session, and the lighting of a candle in commemoration of the victims of the October 7 terrorist attack are slated to take place.

Tuesday’s agenda will conclude with a visit to the Kotel Tunnels, followed by a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

On Wednesday, February 7, the Argentine president is slated to hold a private meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, followed by the planting of a tree and a visit to Jerusalem. An encounter with businessmen and Israel’s chief rabbis is also slated to take place on that day.

Milei will conclude his agenda on Thursday with a blessing ceremony led by Rabbi Osher Vai and a visit to the Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the most affected by Hamas’ October 7 attack. The Argentine president will also hold a meeting with the families of the hostages held captive by Hamas. Milei will bid farewell to Israel at the Western Wall.

Milei, a libertarian economist, has been a staunch supporter of Israel throughout his career and has repeatedly expressed his intention to convert to Judaism. The Argentine president has fiercely condemned Hamas for its unprecedented terrorist attack in October and his administration is reportedly preparing a decree to declare Hamas as a terrorist group under Argentine law.

In an interview given to the Wall Street Journal in January, Milei reaffirmed his possible conversion to Judaism, explaining that the practice of observing Shabbat would presently affect his labor as a president.

“In that sense, it’s something deeper for the long-term,” he stated.

Milei is scheduled to depart from Israel on February 9 and continue his international tour in Italy, where he will be joined by other members of the Argentine government in Rome to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Italian President Sergio Mattarella.

Milei will then head to the Vatican to participate in the canonization of Argentina’s first Saint, Blessed Maria Antonia of St. Joseph, who is commonly referred to as “Mama Antula.” A meeting between Milei and Pope Francis is scheduled to occur on the sidelines of the canonization.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.

February 6, 2024 | 8 Comments »

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8 Comments / 8 Comments

  1. Hello, Sebastien

    …more “Christians” supporting Hamas!

    https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Frussia-vladimir-putin-religion-dives-icy-waters-cleanse-his-soul-785258&psig=AOvVaw3bDd3dad_o1gYc97GSu5Mc&ust=1707384263433000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBMQjRxqFwoTCJj1sZv0mIQDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

    …and more!

    https://i.ytimg.com/vi/W9wAZVTlAZM/maxresdefault.jpg

    …and more!

    https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/e5ae9bbfdd06b8ea2b37c8e85b9a22afb1ca0d53/0_181_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none

    What I said, was: ” I don’t think “Christianity” had much to do with anything.”

  2. @Michael I think you are confusing my posts. I didn’t say Christianity drove Peron out of office but that the Chilean Arabs from the Levant who began coming to Chile in the 1840’s are now calling themselves, “Palestinians” and hate Israel even though most of them are Christians who wouldn’t be safe anywere else in the region today.

  3. Hi, Sebastien

    Peron’s hold on Argentina resumed in 1972, and “ended” with the ouster of his daughter Isabel in 1976.

    “During her short tenure in office, she relied, at different points in time, on pro-neoliberal capitalism politicians, politicized military, and trade unions.[8]

    “In 2007, an Argentine judge ordered Perón’s arrest over the forced disappearance of an activist in February 1976, on the grounds that the disappearance was authorised by her signing of decrees allowing Argentina’s armed forces to take action against “subversives”.[9] She was arrested near her home in Spain on 12 January 2007.[10] Spanish courts subsequently refused her extradition to Argentina.”

    — Wikipedia

    As for Eichman, the Israelis had to use subterfuge to smuggle him out of Argentina. Nazi war criminals were generally very comfortable in that country. Of course, you know all this. I don’t think “Christianity” had much to do with anything. After Isabel’s defeat, the Argie Christians fought the British Christians over the Falklands. The British won, barely, with US help.

  4. By contrast, Chile, which has a leftwing Israelophobic leader, has the largest “Palestinian” population outside of the Middle East, though most of them are Christian and began coming there in the mid 19th century when they were referred to as “Turcos”, appropriately enough (Wikipedia anachronistically says, “Inappropriately” 😀 ). But, they actually support the Jihadists who have driven most of the Christians out and hate Israel, which is the only safe place for Christians in the Middle East, as well as most of Africa, and Asia.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinians_in_Chile

    Once again, by contrast:

    “Eichmann faced trial in Jerusalem beginning in April 1961; he was convicted of crimes against humanity and hanged in May 1962. Perón was overthrown in 1955, with the unrest unleashing a wave of antisemitism. Since then, more than 45,000 Jews have migrated to Israel from Argentina.”

    History of the Jews in Argentina – Wikipedia

  5. ” Argentina’s Jewish population is the largest in Latin America, and the third-largest in the Americas (after that of the United States and Canada).”

    “Status. Today, approximately 180,500 Jews live in Argentina, down from 310,000 in the early 1960s. Most of Argentina’s Jews live in Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Rosario.”

    “The history of the Jews in Argentina goes back to the early sixteenth century, following the Jewish expulsion from Spain. Sephardi Jews fleeing persecution immigrated with explorers and colonists to settle in what is now Argentina,[5] in spite of being forbidden from travelling to the American colonies.[6] In addition, many of the Portuguese traders in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata were Jewish. An organized Jewish community, however, did not develop until after Argentina gained independence from Spain in 1816. By mid-century, Jews from France and other parts of Western Europe, fleeing the social and economic disruptions of revolutions, began to settle in Argentina.[5][7]

    Reflecting the composition of the later immigration waves, the current Jewish population is 80% Ashkenazi; while Sephardi and Mizrahi are a minority.[8] Argentina has the largest Jewish population of any country in Latin America, although numerous Jews left during the 1970s and 1980s to escape the repression of the military junta, emigrating to Israel, West Europe (especially Spain), and North America.[5]

    The community numbered about 400,000 after World War II, but the appeal of Israel and economic and cultural pressures at home led many to leave; recent instability in Israel has resulted in a modest reversal of the trend since 2003.[9] During a major emigration wave in the 2000s, more than 10,000 Argentine Jews settled in Israel.”

    History of the Jews in Argentina – Wikipedia

  6. I hope he is well guarded. His death would be a trgedy for Israel,, Argentina, the United States and the whole world.

  7. A true friend and stand alone fighter , Bravo Senor Presidente Milei .
    Presidente Milei will boost Argentina economy and deliver progress.