The Argentine Senate confirmed the nominations of six new ambassadors on Thursday, including the appointment of businessman Gerardo Werthein and Rabbi Axel Wahnish as ambassadors to the United States and Israel, respectively. President Javier Milei has said he intends to pursue close ties with both countries and had proposed both of them shortly after his inauguration.

A veterinarian by training, Werthein comes from a business family that owns Grupo Werthein, one of the biggest holdings in Argentina. Wahnish is a rabbi who has become a close confidant and spiritual leader of sorts in the president’s quest to learn about Judaism. Milei has also expressed interest in converting. 

The four other ambassadors approved by the Senate were Guillermo Nielsen (Paraguay), Mariano Caucino (India), Ian Selecki (France), and Sonia Cavallo, who will be Argentina’s diplomatic representative at the Organization of American States (OAS). 

Although the six candidates received unanimous support, some opposition sectors voiced their disagreements with aspects of the president’s foreign policy decisions. 

Among them were Buenos Aires City Senator Martín Lousteau, who had previously raised concerns regarding the effect that moving the Argentine embassy in Israel to West Jerusalem could have on national security and the sovereignty claim over Islas Malvinas. Milei announced this move during his trip to Israel in February. 

During his presentation, Lousteau, of the Radical Civic Union (UCR by its Spanish initials), pointed out that moving the embassy in Israel carries “multiple risks.” He added that moving forward with a move that could be seen as a validation of the Israeli occupation might weaken Argentina’s sovereignty claims to the islands. 

Formosa Senator José Mayans of Unión por la Patria also questioned the government’s foreign policy alignments, but said that they would approve all his candidates because the decision regarding ambassadors is a “prerogative the president is granted by the Constitution.”

Editorial disclaimer

Although the UK refers to the territory as the “Falklands Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald refers to the islands as the Malvinas Islands.