JERUSALEM, Israel — Argentinian President Javier Milei made a surprise visit late at night to the Western Wall, or Kotel, on Thursday, making another visit to the holiest site in Judaism before his four-day trip to Israel ends Friday morning.
Unlike his first visit, on Tuesday, when security barriers had been set up and a special prayer lectern placed for Milei’s use, the president simply arrived with several rabbis and a group of security officials, and joined those already offering prayers at the Wall.
Milei prayed quietly, with his face resting on the ancient stones of the Wall, for several minutes, before embracing the rabbis — including spiritual adviser Rabbi Simon Jacobson, and Rabbi Shimon Axel Wahnis, who will be Argentina’s ambassador to Israel.
Javier Milei embraces Rabbi Shimon Axel Wahnis, his spiritual advisor and Argentina’s future ambassador to Israel. Western Wall, Jerusalem, February 8, 2024. (Joel Pollak / Breitbart News)
The crowd began humming religious melodies (“niggunim“) spontaneously, then broke into stirring renditions of Jewish songs, such as “Am Israel Chai” (“The People of Israel Live”). Milei danced with rabbis and friends, who hoisted him on their shoulders.
Later, he posed for photos with Argentina’s foreign minister, Diana Mondino, giving his trademark glare and thumbs-up gesture.
Milei can look back on a successful visit. He announced that he was moving the Argentinian embassy to Jerusalem; he visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial; he toured the wreckage of Kibbutz Nir Oz, which was attacked by Hamas on October 7; and he was greeted like a rock star all over Israel. In so doing, he elevated Argentina’s image, and continued drawing global attention to a country that has rarely been heard from in recent decades unless news is bad.
He leaves for Rome and the Vatican on Friday.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.