In the midst of strong secrecy, with extreme security measures and a
delegation of just three officials
, President
Javier Milei
began his trip to Israel this Monday, to fulfill his promise to make his
first state visit there as President
, in a tour that will have a second stage in Italy and the Vatican, where he will have an
audience with Pope Francis
.
However,
Milei will be outside the country for eight days
, at a key moment for his administration due to the approval of the Omnibus Law and the article-by-article discussion that will take place starting this Tuesday in the Chamber of Deputies.
The President left precise instructions to the Chief of Staff, Nicolás Posse, and his all-terrain advisor Santiago Caputo, who will carry out the negotiations: “We are not willing to give in any more than we already did,” is the message that is repeated in Balcarce 50.
As with his trip to the Davos Forum, with the aim of reducing costs, the head of state chose not to use the presidential plane that Alberto Fernández bought last year and departed - after 1:45 p.m. - on flight
AZ-0681. ITA Airways
bound for Rome, where it will make a three-hour stopover before continuing on its way to Israel.
Video
President Javier Milei's objectives in Israel, the first stop on his tour.
Arrival at David Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv is scheduled for this Tuesday after 2 p.m. (local time).
A little due to the improvised style of the current administration in logistics matters, something that was received with surprise in the Middle East, and also due to a certain suspicion to avoid leaks,
Milei's agenda remained a constant question mark
until minutes before The flight will take off from Ezeiza.
Such was the fear of avoiding leaks that a good part of the passengers did not notice the presence of the President, located in the business category.
Accompanied by the Secretary General of the Presidency, her sister
Karina Milei
, Foreign Minister
Diana Mondino
and the designated ambassador to the State of Israel, Rabbi
Shimon Axel Wahnish
;
The head of state will stay at the iconic
King David Hotel
, where the host country usually sends heads of state visiting Jerusalem, and at 4:45 p.m. he will head to the Western Wall.
Greeted there by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz,
Milei will sign the book on the way to the Wall
, hold a prayer at Minharot Hakotel with Rabbi Axel Wahnish, and light a candle in commemoration of those killed in the October 7 attacks.
At 6 p.m. Milei's meeting with his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog is scheduled.
While
on Wednesday there will be the audience with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
and a round of interviews with local businessmen.
The transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem
He will reiterate to both Herzog and Netanyahu his
promise to move the Argentine embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
, which entails a strong gesture of alignment: it implies recognizing it as the capital of Israel and, consequently, ignoring it as part of another State.
Milei is also
expected to visit the Holocaust Museum and the Forest of Nations
, where he will plant a tree as a gesture of the ties of brotherhood between the countries.
Within the framework of his support for Israel in the fight against terrorism and his response to Hamas for the brutal attack of October 7, the President will meet on Thursday with relatives of Argentine victims of the attack, in his last day before continuing his tour in Italy.
Before embarking on his return, the head of state asked to visit Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the villages in the south of Israel - meters from Gaza - devastated by extremists.
More than 400 people lived there.
There is an expectation that Milei will finally fulfill another of the promises he made during the campaign and that he already ratified as President:
that Argentina declare Hamas a terrorist organization
.
Since December 10, the Government avoided providing details on an issue that the president promoted as a deputy and loudly demanded from Alberto F.
In a country that faces attacks from different fronts - the West Bank, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Syria - Milei's presence implies a
forceful gesture of support
: after all, he is the first Latin American leader to visit Israel since October.
Although he did not make any statements prior to the tour, the libertarian leader established a firm position last month, when participating in the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and presented his visit to Israel as an opportunity to reaffirm the “fraternity” of their people.
“The Holocaust and the Nazis are not something of the past
,” he said.
And he reaffirmed that "Argentina does not remain silent in the face of the terror of Hamas and demands the immediate release of all kidnapped civilians, including our compatriots,"
"In a global context of resurgence of anti-Semitism we have to be firm in our position of intransigence against terrorism and not look the other way," he concluded.
The agenda in Rome and the Vatican
This Monday, before Milei left,
the Government highlighted the importance of the state visit
.
“President Milei's commitment was to make his first trip to Israel as a very clear sign of the side on which he stood against terrorism.
That is why when the audience with the Pope arose, he brought forward his visit to Israel to fulfill his promise,” claimed the Minister of the Interior,
Guillermo Francos
, who along with his counterpart
Sandra Pettovello
(Human Capital) will join the delegation on Friday, in Rome.
In Italy, the questioned Secretary of Worship, Francisco Sánchez
, will also join in
, who as a deputy even asked for the
“death penalty” for Cristina Kirchner
and had
very harsh demonstrations against Francisco
, such as the one in which he maintained that it is a “case for scholars to find a Pope who has done so much harm.”
On Sunday, Sánchez will accompany Milei to the
canonization ceremony of María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa
, known as
“Mamá Antula”
, and to the audience with Francisco, a day later.
It will be in the middle of the meetings that Milei will hold in Rome with the president of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and with the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.