Buenos Aires Herald 
President Javier Milei kicked off his state visit to Israel by promising to move the Argentine embassy to West Jerusalem.
As he stepped off the plane in Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, Milei told Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Yisrael Katz that he supported “the State of Israel against the terrorist group Hamas.”
“I back the legitimate defense of Israel. And obviously, it is my plan to move the [Argentine] embassy to West Jerusalem,” he said, speaking through an interpreter.
His comments sent an unambiguous message about Argentina’s position towards Israel under the Milei administration.
The president is scheduled to visit the Wailing Wall shortly before 5 p.m. local time, where he will be received by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz and plans to light a candle to commemorate the victims of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. He will then meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at around 6 p.m.
The president has expressed interest in converting to Judaism and said recently that one of the reasons he has not yet done so is that his presidential duties prevent him from observing the Sabbath. His official agenda also includes prayer and study in the Western Wall tunnels.
Accompanying Milei on his trip are General Presidency Secretary Karina Milei, who is also his sister; Foreign Minister Diana Mondino, and Argentina’s designated ambassador to Israel, Rabbi Axel Wahnish.
On October 7, Hamas, the islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking around 240 hostages. In response, Israel unleashed a campaign of bombardment on the territory that has killed approximately 27,000 people and injured at least 65,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Large swathes of the territory have been reduced to rubble.
Latin American governments have been divided on the conflict: Brazil and Colombia in January backed South Africa’s case in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and demanding it cease military action. Paraguay, meanwhile, sided decisively with Israel.
