President of Argentina Javier Milei addressed the Knesset Plenum on Wednesday, 11 June 2025, in a special sitting held in his honor. President Milei said, “It is an honor for me to visit this great country, and it is certainly a great honor to be the first President of Argentina who has the privilege to address the Knesset.
“When the Hamas attack on October 7 was committed, the people of Israel fell victim to the greatest act of cruelty in the past 80 years. We see the shadow of antisemitism returning even to Western countries. The humanitarian lessons we thought would never be forgotten have been eroded. We thought we had put an end to barbarism, but the tragedy of October 7 awakened us from that dream.
“We Argentineans experienced this first hand, in [the attack on] the Israeli embassy in the 1990s, in which 114 people were killed. On October 7, 251 people were kidnapped, including 21 Argentinean citizens. There are four citizens of Argentina who are still in captivity, and we will continue to demand their release.
“The West faces a test, with various kinds of barbarism assaulting it. The West is poisoned from within by the barbarism of the relativism movement, which has disrupted our morality. Like the climate activist who became a mercenary for some media attention, and claims that she was kidnapped when there are actually hostages being held in subhuman conditions in Gaza.
“The point is that the way that basic moral principles have been corrupted paves the way to terrorism, because this legitimizes the methods of conscienceless terrorists. How can the world allow a murderous terrorist organization to continue to hold innocent civilians as hostages?
“When both sides are [in conflict], the good and the bad, there is no moral parity between them. Argentina will make its voice heard and will defend nations that wish to protect Western culture.
“I said at the start of my term of office that I consider Israel and the United States as our two main strategic partners. In the past, we joined forces with dictators, with intolerance and with oppression, because that was the direction in which people wanted to lead the country, but we have chosen freedom and Western and democratic values.
“The fact that we share the same ideals makes us partners. Our administration reaffirms Israel’s right to self-defense.
“We did not hesitate to declare Hamas as a terrorist organization, and in 2026 we will move our embassy to Jerusalem. Tomorrow we will sign a memorandum on freedom and democracy and the battle against terrorism and antisemitism.
“My brothers and sisters, Argentina stands by you in these difficult times. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about a large portion of the international community, which is being manipulated by the terrorists and turning the victims into aggressors. It is important to understand that we are in the midst of a battle between good and evil, and we started to lose this battle when we started to lose the distinction between the two.
“The international community must reconnect urgently with its moral compass. In order to decide, one must only look at the facts—on one side, barbaric terrorism, which only kills and destroys, and on the other, the only stronghold of freedom and democracy in the region.
“Argentina is undergoing its own Exodus. It is liberating itself after 100 years of its political past. It became one of the countries with the highest tax burden in the world. Our administration inherited a poverty rate of over 50%. [The people] elected a new person, who was a political outsider, to lead the nation. We were elected to make Argentina a freer country, and we will not rest until we do so,” said President Milei.
