JERUSALEM, Israel – Argentina’s President Javier Milei told cheering Knesset members on Wednesday that his nation will move its embassy to Jerusalem in 2026 as he strongly criticized the international community for antisemitism and its support of Hamas. Milei pledged to stand strongly for Israel.
Amid shouts of “Viva, Argentina!” and plentiful standing ovations from Israeli lawmakers, Milei decried the “cancer of antisemitism” and demanded the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, four of whom have Argentinian citizenship.
“How does the world allow a murderous terrorist organization to continue to hold innocent civilians hostage?” he asked. “When there is good and evil, there is no moral equality here.”
The embassy announcement, as well as the timing of Milei’s visit, was warmly welcomed by a government embroiled in turmoil over the stresses of the war in Gaza, ongoing missile attacks by the Houthis in Yemen, floundering U.S. negotiations to prevent a nuclear Iran, and an internal crisis created by some ultra-Orthodox parties who commissioned a failed vote to bring down the Netanyahu coalition.
“Argentina stands by you in these difficult days. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about a large part of the international community that is being manipulated by terrorists and turning victims into perpetrators,” Milei told the lawmakers.
Milei took aim at the globalist Left, pointing at a “corruption” of Western values and accusing the Left of “siding with Hamas.”
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Milei, noting, “You have taken a stand for truth against falsehood, understanding that this is a war of unparalleled justice – an all-out battle (against) barbarism that threatens the entire world.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid declared, “By standing by the State of Israel, you have woven yourself and the Argentinian people into the eternal story of the Jewish people.”
An embassy move by Buenos Aires from its current location in the coastal city of Herzliya to Jerusalem would make Argentina the fourth Latin American nation to make such a move. Guatemala, Honduras, and Paraguay followed the United States’ 2018 lead under President Trump and moved their embassies in succeeding years.
Kosovo and Papua New Guinea are the other nations now with embassies in Jerusalem.
During his Knesset visit, Milei received the $1 million Genesis Prize he was awarded in January recognizing his support of Israel. The president will use the prize money to start an initiative aimed at improving relations between Latin American nations and Israel. The initiative, according to The Associated Press, will also combat antisemitism.
