Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, Isn’t Jewish Just Yet, but a Trip to Israel Is Coming and Who Knows?

Since Javier Milei’s election victory last November in Argentina, he has never held back from making the kinds of statements that capture the spotlight. So Mr. Milei’s decision to travel to Israel next week, on top of his confirmed penchant for the Jewish faith, promises to be a fountain of headlines in the making.The visit, which could come as soon as February 6, comes at a fraught time for both Argentina and Israel, as the former is battered by economic headwinds and the latter battles to dismantle Hamas. Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly made the invitation for Argentina’s president to visit Jerusalem.Speaking during a Holocaust remembrance event at Buenos Aires over the weekend, Mr. Milei said that Argentina would “not remain silent in the face of Hamas terror.” He also said that 11 Argentines are among the civilian hostages still held by Hamas terrorists. Political affinity with Israel notwithstanding, Mr. Milei has embraced the Jewish religion. When he was on the campaign trail, he said that his reasons for wanting to visit Israel were “more spiritual” than anything else.During a visit to New York last fall, Mr. Milei visited the Queens grave of a much-revered rabbi, the Chabad Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Prior to taking office in December, Mr. Milei, raised as a Catholic, expressed his intention to convert to Judaism. No specific timeline has been given for that endeavor, but he has recently taken to studying the Torah, Argentine sources say. The prospect has generated considerable buzz in Argentina, which is home to a sizable Jewish community.When or whether it happens, the libertarian economist leader’s first official trip overseas following his attention-getting pitstop-cum-star-turn at Davos last month will also draw scrutiny on account of another stop on the itinerary: the Holy See. The Vatican visit is scheduled for February 11 and a meeting with the pope is set for the following day. He is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Meloni, but more intrigue surrounds the envisaged tête-à-tête with Francis. In another demonstration of how all politics is local, even at the global level, it is worth recalling that the pope is Argentine, too. He was the archbishop and later cardinal of Buenos Aires before becoming the first Jesuit pope in 2013.At the Vatican, the idiosyncratic Argentine leader will be in damage-control mode. While he was a presidential candidate, Mr. Milei took more than a few rhetorical potshots at Pope Francis, calling him variously “the representative of the evil one on Earth,” a “son of a b— preaching communism,” and, somewhat more diplomatically, an “imbecile who defends social justice.”After his election, though, Mr. Milei softened his tone. In a January 8 letter on Casa Rosada letterhead, Mr. Milei addressed Francis as “Holy Father” and invited him to visit Argentina, to which he has not returned in more than a decade.In any case, count on Mr. Milei to make any given dialogue a lively one. Last week, on the sidelines of an interview he gave to the Colombian press, he called Colombia’s head of state a “murderous communist” who he said was guilty of “sinking” the country.Gustavo Petro has served as Colombia’s president since August 2022. He is a scandal-ridden former M19 guerrilla member who is said to aim to pacify the country after years of fighting between security forces, left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and drug traffickers. In a sign of the tension that prevails between the two South American nations, the Colombian ambassador to Argentina, Camilo Romero, was according to the Colombian ministry of foreign affairs at Bogota recalled for “consultations.” Mr. Petro’s office criticized Mr. Milei’s comments as “irresponsible.”Yet squabbles in South America will recede for a while as big issues loom in a Middle East on fire. Addressing the scourge of Hamas will be of top importance, as will be assuring Jerusalem that it has a solid partner on the fickle international stage.Following Mr. Milei’s election, President Trump said of the 53-year-old anarcho-capitalist via video, “You will turn your country around and truly make Argentina great again.” Mr. Milei has also previously said that he is open to moving Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv — the American embassy made that overdue switch in 2018 during the Trump administration. An announcement to the effect that Buenos Aires will be following suit could be forthcoming as soon as next week.

Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, Isn’t Jewish Just Yet, but a Trip to Israel Is Coming and Who Knows?

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