Shimon Axel Wahnish
, trusted rabbi of President
Javier Milei
and the man chosen by him to be Argentina's ambassador to Israel, told in an interview how he met the president, gave details of the trip they made together to Israel and spoke of the libertarian's approach to Judaism:
"He was inspired by Moses as a leader of men
. "
According to Wahnish's words to the
Jerusalem Post
, the first meeting between the two was on January 28, 2022 with Milei "as a popular economist and professor."
A few months earlier, Milei himself had said that he was thinking about converting to Judaism and that he wanted to be "the first Jewish president in Argentine history."
And, upon meeting the rabbi, he began that path.
In the interview, Wahnish said that Milei "had seen Charlton Heston's 1956 film
The Ten Commandments
as a child, and was inspired by Moses as a leader of men."
That interest in the spiritual "continued into adulthood, and the topic of God came up" when the two met.
“I asked Milei if she had ever been to the Western Wall.
He told me that he had not visited the Jewish holy site and we made a mutual promise that, according to Milei,
came from a place higher than him
: a promise that the two of us would visit it together.
It was a promise that was always remembered... Since then he started saying that he had a rabbi and a spiritual guide,” Wahnish revealed.
For him, from their meeting, a closer bond began between the current President and Judaism.
"He began attending Shabbat meals, 'like a family,' he began reading the weekly Torah portion, and he learned very quickly and intelligently. He would ask questions about Torah passages and we would have conversations for an hour straight. "It wasn't preaching, it was getting to the answer to a question through conversation," he said.
Rabbi Shimon Axel Wahnish in his Northern Quarter apartment.
Photo: Fernando de la Orden
And he summed up his conversations with Milei in a quote from the Talmudic sage Rabbi Hanina, who said: “I have learned a lot from my rabbis, even more from my colleagues, but from my students I have learned more than from anyone else.”
Wahnish also said that "
what Milei saw in Judaism
was the constant search for truth and spirituality, an endless journey of growth
."
And that people see in the libertarian "the hope of getting out of the crisis in Argentina."
“Many politicians feel that people serve them, it is the other way around.
Many people see in him the hope of getting out of the crisis in Argentina.
Even if you are in a high position, you are first and foremost a human being.
A great president must have a big heart
.
Economics and politics were vehicles of moral values.
If he didn't know what was right and what was wrong, if he didn't have a solid moral compass, he wouldn't be able to make the right decisions as a leader.
The real Milei revolution in Argentina was not truly economic and political, but cultural and spiritual
,” he summarized.
Regarding the trip they made together to Israel, Milei's first as president, the rabbi assured that "every minute of the trip" they knew that they were "sending a message to the world."
"This trip transcended only us, it represented something bigger. One of the messages of the trip was that
for Milei, promises are promises
. The president is not like other politicians who are all charlatans," he added.
He also said that he had been to Israel many times, but that "the trip with the President was unique because there was so much in such a short time."
Milei and Wahnish in front of the Wailing Wall, during the president's visit to Israel.
Photo: AFP
Milei's long-awaited visit to the Wailing Wall was one of his first acts upon arriving in the Holy Land.
Seeing the ancient remains of the Jewish temple, Milei cried.
Wahnish said that he "was so grateful that he was overcome with emotion."
“People used to think that a president is above other people, he is not a human being.
We want to show that everyone has emotions and still grow spiritually and are better people,” Wahnish said, adding that a person cannot think clearly if she is caught up in her own ego.
The trip, which occurred during the war between Hamas and Israel, "was also a humanitarian mission," Wahnish said.
Several Argentine citizens were captured by the terrorist organization and were in captivity in Gaza at the time of the visit.
At the Western Wall, according to the rabbi, "Milei prayed to God for help in the release of the hostages."
Milei then visited Argentine citizens and relatives of the victims of the October 7 massacre.
“We listened and cried with them
,” Wahnish said.
She also visited Israeli border towns that had been attacked and noted that “we saw things that cannot be explained in words.”
Another reason for the visit, the rabbi said, was that Milei wanted to show his support for Israel following the tragedy and suffering suffered at the hands of terrorists.
"I think it is one of the people that supports Israel the most," he remarked in reference to Argentina.