Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday met with Argentinian President Javier Milei on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The Prime Minister thanked President Milei for his steadfast and unconditional support for the State of Israel, and congratulated him on receiving the "Defender of Israel" award from the Darchei Torah Yeshiva in New York.
The two leaders discussed continued cooperation between their countries and the positive strategic shift for Israel taking place in Latin America, which makes possible the expansion of the "Isaac Accords", led by President Milei, to deepen security and economic cooperation between Israel and the countries of Latin America.
“President Milei is one of the great leaders of our time. What you have done for the economy of Argentina is masterful, very hard to do, with a lot of political resistance. But you've broken out of the cage, and you are giving freedom to people. It may take time for them to understand it, but I want to tell you: Anybody who understands anything in economics knows that there has never been such a transformation. And as someone who's made a transformation myself, know that's a compliment made from the heart and from the mind," Netanyahu told Milei.
“And second, you stand up for the truth. You don't care. You just speak up for the truth. That's why you support Israel because we share this common heritage of justice and speaking the truth, and no one speaks it better than you," he added.
Milei said, “Thank you very much my friend. For me an honor to receive your words, being you one of the greatest leaders of all history of the world."
During his speech at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Milei described the international body as “useless" and accused its officials of acting as “fatally arrogant parasites."
Among other things, the Argentinian President attacked the organization’s record on international security and human rights. "Those who were supposed to guarantee collective security and human rights failed in their task. They allowed chaos, violence and international terrorism to flourish," he said.
"The alleged defenders of human rights have sheltered bloodthirsty dictatorships and regimes that stone women in the streets; they have systematically voted against Israel while remaining silent in the face of Islamic terrorism and the genocide of Christians in Africa."
The Argentine president made similar criticisms of the UN during his 2024 General Assembly address, when he focused in particular on the organization’s anti-Israel bias. He criticized the organization for "voting against the State of Israel, the only country in the Middle East to defend liberal democracy."
"We have simultaneously shown a total inability to respond to the scourge of terrorism," he added.
"In this same house, that purports to defend human rights, we have also included bloody dictatorships in the Human Rights Council, including Cuba and Venezuela without reproach," Milei said.