President-elect Javier Milei, a self-declared philosemite and supporter of Israel has vowed to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem.
By World Israel News Staff
In a development that has been called a “political earthquake,” the ardently pro-Israel libertarian economist Javier Milei has been elected president of Argentina.
Milei, who has claimed “my law is Torah” and studies with a rabbi regularly, has won close to 56% of the vote in the decisive run-off, compared to 44% for his center-left opponent Sergio Massa of the Union for the Homeland party.
Like Donald Trump, Milei (53) is considered a political outsider with a flamboyant personality, and similarly, he has vowed to move Argentina’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Milei has been outspoken in his support of Israel, particularly during the recent war with Hamas in the wake of the October 7th massacre during which over 1,200 were killed in Israel and 240 were taken as hostages.
Sergio Massa, the current Minister of Economy, has been increasingly unpopular with inflation hitting 143% and record poverty levels. Milei’s proposals to combat the financial crisis are to reject the peso and adopt the dollar as the country’s currency and to “blow up” the central bank.
Left-wing critics refer to Milei, with his bushy sideburns and radical policies as “El Loco.” He supports slashing funding for social programs, seeks to outlaw abortion, and relax gun-ownership laws.
Milei’s conservatism includes religiosity. In a candid conversation with a Spanish newspaper, Milei revealed contemplating conversion to Judaism, though he recognized potential challenges if he were to become president.
He explained, “If you’re Jewish by maternal lineage, there’s no obligation to adhere to Judaism’s tenets. However, upon conversion, that commitment becomes binding.”
“If I’m president, and it’s Shabbat, what am I supposed to do? Am I going to disconnect from the country from Friday to Saturday? There are some issues that would make [the religion] incompatible. The rabbi who helps me study says that I should read the Torah from the point of view of economic analysis.”
Milei, who became fascinated with Judaism after he taught economics to an observant Jew, expressed a desire to “travel to Jerusalem to delve deeper into his studies of the Torah, Talmud, and other Jewish scriptures.”
“My law is the Torah,” he said.
In July, Milei secretly visited the grave of the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in New York, the Haaretz newspaper reported.
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