Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández and his wife Ana García Carías arrived for a visit to the sukkah of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto in Manhattan, and remained there for over three hours.
In recent years, there has been great friendship between the President and Rabbi Pinto, and on Wednesday night, it was expressed in an unusual way, with President Hernández and his wife remaining in the sukkah at Shuva Israel's world center in Manhattan for over three hours, listening to Rabbi Pinto's class.
One unusual moment during the visit occurred when President Hernández requested to be allowed to personally distribute ice cream cones to the sukkah's guests and to members of the Honduras delegation. At the same time, President Hernández expressed his appreciation for Jewish holidays and especially for the holiday of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), which symbolizes - in his words, the connection with the other and the different.
Last month, senior Honduras government officials participated in the bar mitzvah celebration of Rabbi Pinto's son. Among the officials who traveled to New York especially for the event were Honduras' Foreign Minister, Interior Minister, and Parliament Chairman.
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Rabbi Pinto sent a letter to the Honduras President and his wife, after they recovered from the virus.
"A special blessing to a great friend of the Jewish nation, the President of the Republic of Honduras Mr. Juan Orlando Hernández and his wife the First Lady Ana García Hernández, who are recovering from coronavirus," Rabbi Pinto wrote.
"We pray and request for the President and his wife, the government and the people of Honduras, that they pass this plague in peace and that G-d grant success to the President in managing the financial and health crises. And as they support Israel, Israel will be a protection for them," Rabbi Pinto concluded his special blessing.