Argentinian President Javier Milei landed on Tuesday in Israel, where he announced that he would be moving Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem.
Milei, who made Israel the destination of his first bilateral visit since he assumed the presidency in December, had pledged to make the move during his election campaign.
There have been no practical steps taken around the move, and there is no Argentinian ambassador in Israel.
Still, an Israeli diplomat told The Times of Israel that “the positive statement is important,” and “we look forward to Argentina opening the sixth embassy in Jerusalem.”
The Hamas terror group blasted Milei’s statement, saying it viewed the move as “an infringement of the rights of our Palestinian people to their land, and a violation of the rules of international law, considering Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian land.”
Currently, the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Papua New Guinea and Kosovo have embassies in Jerusalem.
Other countries, including Hungary and the Czech Republic, have embassy branches in the capital.
Milei’s personal rabbi, Shimon Axel Wahnish, joined the former economist on his visit, and is expected to become the envoy.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz met Milei at Ben Gurion Airport, and thanked the Argentinian for supporting Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza and for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“You are a person of values who is committed only to the truth,” Katz told Milei, speaking through a translator, “and it is no wonder that you chose to come to Israel right away to support us in the just struggle for the defense of the Jewish people against the murderers of Hamas.”
Milei was scheduled to visit the Western Wall and meet President Isaac Herzog later Tuesday, and is slated to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his war cabinet on Wednesday.
Herzog will welcome Milei with an IDF band playing the national anthems of both countries, the first such welcome since the war with Hamas began on October 7.
The two leaders will also visit Kibbutz Nir Oz in the Gaza border area later, which was heavily attacked by Hamas on October 7.
A number of Argentinian citizens are still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, including brothers Eitan and Yair Horn, who were kidnapped from Nir Oz.
Milei brought Argentina’s Foreign Minister Diana Mondino along with him on the three-day trip, in addition to Wahnish. While Milei is not Jewish, he has expressed an interest in Judaism and has talked about potentially converting to the religion.
He studies with Wahnish in Buenos Aires, has quoted Torah passages in rallies, and walked out on stage for a campaign event to a recording of a shofar.
On his first trip abroad after winning the election in November, Milei visited the tomb of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, in Queens, New York.
After his victory, Milei also participated in a Havdalah ceremony to mark the end of Shabbat in Once, a Jewish neighborhood of Buenos Aires, where he received blessings from the Kabbalist Rabbi David Hanania Pinto.
Milei will head on Thursday to Italy and the Vatican, where he will meet with Pope Francis, a fellow Argentine, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Milei called Francis “the evil one,” and an “imbecile” who “promotes communism” before his election, but the two seem to be working to reconcile.