BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) 鈥 At the base of the sacred Western Wall in Jerusalem鈥檚 Old City, President Javier Milei of Argentina appeared to be in a spiritual trance.
With head and hands pressed against the ancient stone, he prayed with the Orthodox rabbi who introduced him to Judaism three years ago. Although born and raised Roman Catholic, Milei has increasingly shown public interest in Judaism and even expressed intentions to convert.
Stepping back from the wall, Milei broke down. He hugged Rabbi Shimon Axel Wahnish close, sobbing onto his shoulder.
鈥淚n that moment, I felt proud that we have such a determined leader, with such deep spiritual values,鈥 Wahnish told The Associated Press in a recent interview, recalling their .
For many Argentines, that pride was fraught with peril.
Breaking decades of policy precedent, Milei has gone further in his support of right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin than perhaps any other world leader as Israel faces over its that has killed over 36,000 Palestinians and pushed the enclave to the .
His posture could not stand in starker contrast to most of Latin America 鈥 where and have severed ties with Israel and at least five regional countries, , have pulled ambassadors from Tel Aviv.
鈥淎mong great nations that should be pillars of the free world, I see indifference in some and fear in others about standing on the side of truth,鈥 Milei told Jewish community leaders at an event last month commemorating the 81st anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. It was a veiled swipe at Western powers 鈥 鈥 for criticizing Israeli military conduct.
The crowd leapt to its feet in applause.
The president's supporters insist his newfound Jewish fervor has no bearing on his foreign policy. But Milei's infatuation with Judaism and outspoken support for Israel has generated fears and exposed fissures within Argentina鈥檚 Jewish community, among the biggest in the world, and roiled relations with its neighbors.
Argentine Jews remain deeply scarred by a pair of lethal bombings targeting Israel's embassy in 1992 and the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association, known by its Spanish acronym AMIA, in 1994. Iran plotted the attacks and Lebanon's . No one has been held responsible. Argentina's investigation has been .
鈥淢ilei has a messianic mind, and this is quite dangerous,鈥 said Diana Malamud, whose husband was among the 85 people killed in the AMIA attack. 鈥淗is policies can not only stoke conflicts at the international level ... but also generate anti-Semitism within our country."
Milei's curiosity about Judaism began as a kind of penitence in 2021, when he faced accusations of harboring pro-Nazi sympathies and wanted to prove in speech that he bore no animus toward Jews. He connected with Sephardic leader Rabbi Wahnish to have 鈥渁 chat that was supposed to last 10 minutes and ended two hours later,鈥 Wahnish said.
As Milei evolved from TV pundit to , Wahnish guided him through the study of Torah. Seeking common ground between his vision of and the prophecy of the Old Testament, Milei's casual interest morphed into a regular religious practice.
Wahnish, recently appointed Argentina's ambassador to Israel, declined to comment on Milei's conversion.
鈥淚n Judaism and Moses, Milei sees a cultural and spiritual revolution toward freedom,鈥 Wahnish said. Since childhood, he added, Milei 鈥渇elt Moses was his idol, his hero.鈥
Milei, who owns four clones of his dead dog Conan, has never been the occupant of Argentina's highest office. Still, his foray into Judaism has come as a particular surprise.
On the campaign trail, Milei quoted the Torah, made multiple Brooklyn pilgrimages to the tomb of influential and sounded the shofar, the ram鈥檚-horn trumpet blasted during the Jewish High Holy Days, to close his electoral campaign.
Ahead of Milei鈥檚 victory, nearly 4,000 Argentine Jewish intellectuals signed a petition voicing concern over Milei鈥檚 鈥減olitical use of Judaism.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 perverse ... to use the shofar, which is played during religious ceremonies, to announce himself,鈥 said Pablo Gorodneff, secretary-general of the progressive Argentine Jewish Appeal group. 鈥淚t makes me very frustrated, very sad.鈥
As fighting raged in Gaza, Milei flew to Israel for his first foreign visit and praised Netanyahu without reservation. Following in the , he pledged to move Argentina鈥檚 Embassy from a beachfront bastion near Tel Aviv to the contested capital of Jerusalem 鈥 aggravating an emotional issue at the . Netanyahu called Milei 鈥渁 great friend." Hamas called him 鈥渁 partner of the Zionist occupier.鈥
Last month, Milei's government upended Argentina鈥檚 traditional recognition of Palestinian statehood, joining the U.S. and Israel to vote against
His foreign policy shift has thrilled Jewish community leaders, but also left them on edge.
鈥淚f Milei鈥檚 supposed defense of Israel is an attack on Palestinian rights, it puts the Jewish community in Argentina at risk,鈥 said H茅ctor Shalom, director of Argentina's Anne Frank Center. 鈥淭he decades of impunity for past attacks show our vulnerability."
The 1994 bombing, Argentina's most notorious cold case, still spreads unease. After , the mood in the Jewish community went .
Jewish high schools requested that students stop wearing their uniforms, so as not to identify as Jewish. Authorities jacked up security at synagogues. Two bomb scares emptied out the AMIA building.
鈥淪ecurity levels have always been high but now there is a much greater sensitivity,鈥 said Amos Linetzky, head of AMIA.
Government officials have also grown anxious, and warning that the has stoked the embers of Islamic militancy and blown them all the way to Latin America.
Upon news of the first April 14, local media reported Milei's pro-Israel stance had made him a target. He cut his state visit to Denmark short and flew home to convene a crisis committee alongside the Israeli ambassador.
Milei's hardline security minister, Patricia Bullrich, singled out left-wing neighbors Bolivia and Chile as Islamist hotbeds, ordering reinforcements to Argentina's northern border.
鈥淲e are on high alert,鈥 Bullrich said, alleging that Bolivia 鈥 which last year struck 鈥 teems with Iranian Revolutionary Guard operatives. 鈥淧olitically correct messages like calling for peace are not Argentina鈥檚 position."
Without providing evidence, Bullrich also claimed that Chile 鈥 home to the outside the Arab world 鈥 hosts .
The accusations, decried as baseless by Bolivia and Chile, prompted both governments to pull their ambassadors from Buenos Aires.
On Saturday, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a 57-member group describing itself as 鈥渢he collective voice of the Muslim world,鈥 issued a furious denunciation of what it described as Milei鈥檚 anti-Islamic rhetoric.
For years, U.S. and Argentine intelligence services have subjected the , where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet, to intense surveillance, scouring the large population of Lebanese and Syrian immigrants for Islamist sympathies.
鈥淥ne of the things I don鈥檛 think gets enough attention is how long Hezbollah has had a presence in our hemisphere,鈥 Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee this spring.
Washington claims Hezbollah funds its activities through drug traffickers in the area. The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned dozens of individuals in South America over alleged ties to Hezbollah, . Authorities have reported thwarting attacks, with helping Brazil arrest alleged Hezbollah recruits last November.
Hezbollah denies running operations in the region.
鈥淲hat would Hezbollah want with Latin America?鈥 the group's spokesperson, Rana Sahili, asked the AP. She accused Milei of playing loose with facts to score points in a 鈥減olitical game.鈥
Experts say the true threat lies somewhere in the middle.
鈥淪ome say Hezbollah's presence in Latin America is a complete fabrication, while others say the group uses the region as a base and we're doomed,鈥 said Fernando Brancoli at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
鈥淣either is correct."
