On a trip filled with geopolitical symbolism, Javier Milei once again demonstrated his stature as a global statesman. Before returning to Buenos Aires, the Argentine President held a key meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a hotel in Manhattan.
There, they analyzed the situation of the Argentine hostages kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza, the crisis in the Middle East following Iran's defeat in the 12-Day War, and the mechanisms of bilateral cooperation in scientific and technological matters.
Javier Milei y Benjamín Netanyahu.
"The President reiterated his firm commitment to collaborate in all necessary instances and offered full willingness to work together with Israel for the release of the hostages," stated presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni, emphasizing Argentina's clear and forceful position against terrorism.
The meeting lasted 45 minutes and included a high-level delegation: Karina Milei, Economy Minister Luis Caputo, Defense Minister Luis Petri, and Adorni himself accompanied the Argentine leader from his hotel to the meeting point, near Central Park. Netanyahu welcomed Milei with a smile, consolidating a relationship that had grown closer two months earlier, when both leaders met in Jerusalem amid heightened tensions with Iran.
Reunión entre Javier Milei y Benjamín Netanyahu.
Milei is part of a select group of international leaders who support the Israeli strategy in Gaza, alongside Donald Trump and Santiago Peña. Precisely, the U.S. President will receive Netanyahu in Washington next Monday, confirming that the regional agenda is defined by an axis of support for Israel in the face of terrorism.
In this context, Hamas is holding three living Argentines captive —Eitan Horn, Ariel Cunio, and David Cunio— and is retaining the body of Lior Rudaeff. "We continue to demand the unconditional return of the 4 Argentines still held hostage. We will not relent in our demand for the release of all captives," Milei had declared during his previous visit to Jerusalem, a demand he reiterated to Netanyahu and also brought to the UN General Assembly.
The President's day also included a spiritual gesture and another institutional act of enormous significance. Before seeing Netanyahu, Milei visited "El Ohel", the tomb of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the "Lubavitcher Rebbe", a central figure in contemporary Judaism, whom he described as a moral and religious inspiration.
At the conclusion of his activities, the Argentine leader was honored by B'nai B'rith with the Presidential Gold Medal, the highest award that the international Jewish organization gives to individuals committed to the defense of Israel and the fight against antisemitism. Milei thus joins a select list that includes David Ben-Gurion, John F. Kennedy, George H.W. Bush, and Golda Meir.
