Argentine President Javier Milei Visits Israel, Announces Embassy Will Move to Jerusalem
Milei: “I’m here to convey my support of Israel against Hamas terrorists, my support for the people of Israel who have the right for self-defense.”
Argentine President Javier Milei chose Israel as his first bilateral visit since he assumed office.
(He visited America as president-elect.)
Milei has expressed a desire to convert to Judaism, so I’m not shocked he chose Israel.
Milei announced as soon as he landed that he intended to move the Argentine embassy to Jerusalem:
“For me, it is a pleasure, an honor to be here,” Argentinian President Javier Milei said upon his arrival in Israel on Tuesday. “I am keeping my promise to have my first diplomatic visit to Israel. I’m here to convey my support of Israel against Hamas terrorists, my support for the people of Israel who have the right for self-defense.”
“Obviously, my plan is to move the embassy to western Jerusalem,” he announced. “So for me it’s a great pleasure to be here. Thank you.”
The news made Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz happy:
“I thank you for recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and for your announcement now to relocate Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said of the decision. “Welcome to Israel, Mr. President.”
Katz declared Milei “a person of values who is committed only to the truth” and thanked him for his support “in the just struggle for the defense of the Jewish people against the murderers of Hamas.”
Argentinian President Milei lands in Israel and says he will keep his promise to move his country's embassy to Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/1MyXLSWBwU
— Lahav Harkov 🎗️ (@LahavHarkov) February 6, 2024
President Isaac Herzog stressed to Milei that the country could not wait any longer to bring back the hostages.
The hostages include 11 Argentine citizens.
Milei’s trip includes a visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, a place attacked and pillaged on October 7th:
“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,” says Herzog in a public statement alongside Milei. “Now we have 136 hostages in Gaza, we are praying and working tirelessly to bring them back home as soon as possible.”
“And 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,” continues Herzog. “This cannot wait any longer. Their suffering is immense. And this is against any rules of human values.”
Milei told Herzog that Argentina stands with Israel, demanding the release of the hostages.
The president also promised the country is working on declaring Hamas a terrorist organization:
“We condemned not only Hamas’s terrorist actions but also expressed our solidarity with the State of Israel and continued to support Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense,” Milei told Herzog. “Allow me to add that I have also sent a bill to the Argentinian parliament, demanding the release of the hostages, all the hostages, of course, and with a special focus on the Argentinian captives – 11 of whom are still in captivity.”
“We are working and planning to declare Hamas a terrorist organization,” Milei added. “But now, my presence here confirms everything I have said not only in recent weeks but since October 7. And this is another sign of the historical closeness, support, and friendship between our peoples.”
Translation: President Javier Milei held a meeting with the President of the State of Israel, Isaac Herzog, in Jerusalem.
El Presidente Javier Milei mantuvo un encuentro con el Presidente del Estado de Israel, Isaac Herzog, en Jerusalén. pic.twitter.com/Ly62F8vBr7
— Oficina del Presidente (@OPRArgentina) February 6, 2024
President of Argentina @JMilei, my dear friend, you are so very welcome in Jerusalem. I welcome your firm demand for the immediate return of the hostages. I welcome your intention to proscribe Hamas a terrorist organization. And I welcome your decision to move the Argentinian… pic.twitter.com/ghec6FX9Ib
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) February 6, 2024
Milei also traveled to the Western Wall, weeping as he prayed. It is a very emotional visit for anyone nowadays, considering Israel is fighting for its survival and Jews face antisemitism around the world.
Javier Milei emotional as he prayed at the Western Wall in Israel.
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) February 6, 2024
Just when you thought you couldn’t love Argentinian President Javier Milei (@JMilei) any more, after landing in #Israel and announcing he will move Argentina’s Embassy's to Jerusalem, he went straight to the Western Wall! 🇮🇱❤️🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/kwWbd6ijAz
— Arsen Ostrovsky 🎗️ (@Ostrov_A) February 6, 2024
But the trip will continue this week.
Milei will meet with Israel’s war cabinet and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.
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Comments
Miles is awesome, in the mold of Trump.
Well, Elvis really is alive
Interesting that he specified the embassy would move to Western Jerusalem, which was within Israel’s borders before 1967, rather than the eastern part of the city which was only annexed after 1967. (The USA until Trump never recognized any part of the city as part of Israel, but I think most countries did; as far as I know no other country recognizes the annexation of the eastern side of the city, and Trump was carefully ambiguous about it.)
Quibble, quibble, quibble…!
I think you might mean the State Dept never recognized West Jerusalem as part of Israel. My understanding is that for many decades every president has promised to move the embassy to Jerusalem while campaigning, only to renege while in office are the urging of our State Dept. On the premise that it would cause the folks who already want all Israelis to burn in a fire to want all Israelis to burn in a fire.
Trump, hate or love him, was the first president with the insight and fortitude to look at that and tell State to pound sand. The promised Middle East Armageddon was a bust.
Thing to remember about the State Dept is supposedly when the new Secretary under Reagan was interviewing the new ambassadors and senior embassy staff he would point to a globe and ask them to point out the country it would be their job to represent. The story goes they invariably would point to the country they were to be assigned to. The Secretary would correct them and point to where the USA was on the globe instead.
I meant what I wrote. Yes, every presidential candidate would campaign on it, and then when they got in the State Department would inform them that US policy since 1948 has been that no part of Jerusalem is part of Israel, not even the western side, and did they really want to upset the apple cart by changing that long-standing policy. Trump is the first president who said “Hell, yes, that policy is wrong and I’m changing it”. And even he was carefully ambiguous about whether he meant the whole city or just the western part.
Good to see that Pres. Trump’s policies were based on diplomacy, not what the Dems accused him of.
Reminds me of the “Yes Minister” and “Yes Prime Minister” BBC series. Supposedly the Head of State (Prime Minister or President) sets foreign policy, and the diplomats (Foreign Affairs or Dept of State) are to follow.
In reality the unelected Elite tend to set policy and ignore the Temporary Hires – as they refer to their supposed bosses.
If we’re actually a representational democracy, it should be option one above, not option two. In other words, state Dept is supposed to enact policy, not set it.
It’s possible the Israelis offered a suitable site located in West Jerusalem and he simply accepted the deal.
No, it hasn’t got anywhere near considering sites. This is just Milei’s initial statement of his intention. He took care to say on which side of the city the new embassy would be located because he doesn’t want to get involved in the whole issue of the post-1967 annexation. As far as I know Argentina has always recognized the western part of the city as part of Israel, so he’s not being too radical in promising to move the embassy there.
No. You’ve no special insight to Milei’s thought process or motivations beyond reading tea leaves.
As far as I know, tea is for drinking, not fortune telling.
Milei is the Man! He puts the vile Dhimmi-crats and European, leftist dhimmis to shame with his unabashed support for individual freedom and free markets.
A breath of fresh air.
Isn’t it telling that the leaders that the leftists call “Hitlerian” are the ones defending Israel the most?
Upside down and backwards, just like all leftist projection.
Two-thirds House vote needed to supply a $13B~ aid package to Israel.
It did not pass because Democrats hate Israel.
But Ukraine, well, there’s not enough money for socialist Democrats to support a Zelensky regime.
You gotta love this guy. His very presence bespeaks an unwavering, almost crazed purpose, that will brook no nonsense.
Milei is also negotiating a trade-economic pact.
next move by leftys?
devalue the neighboring currencies etc and cause even more upheaval in the region and of course
BLAME MILEI >>>TRUMP
got to love a pro freedom leader
Far better than a bottom feeding Marxist.