Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, received the $1 million Genesis Prize in Jerusalem on Thursday in recognition of his unequivocal support for Israel at a time of growing international isolation over the 20-month-long war against Hamas in Gaza.
The unabashed philo-semite who dramatically shifted Argentina’s foreign policy toward an unprecedented alliance with the United States and Israel after decades of both left-wing and right-wing Argentine governments backing Arab countries became the first non-Jewish honoree to receive the prize.
“In the year when Israel is fighting its longest war in history against the most evil terror organization and the isolation of Israel grows, it is especially important to recognize those non-Jewish voices who unabashedly support our people and our country,” said Israeli statesman Natan Sharansky, a former Soviet dissident and an earlier recipient of the Genesis Prize, at the award ceremony at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem (MOTJ).
“You are a real hero to the Jewish people,” he stated.
The former prisoner of Zion, who spent nine years in Soviet prison, including more than half in solitary confinement, before being released and immigrating to Israel, noted that he knows all too well what isolation is and why it is so important that such voices as the Argentine leader be heard around the world.
“Remember you will always find in me an ally of Israel, and my country has sided on the right side of history,” Milei said in Spanish as part of his acceptance remarks.
The organization said that the Argentine leader will donate the prize money to launch an initiative aimed at improving diplomatic relations between Israel and Latin American countries, recently dubbed “the Isaac Accords,” after the landmark 2020 Abraham Accords, and combating antisemitism in the region.
Established in 2013, the prize honors individuals “for their outstanding professional achievements, contribution to humanity and deep commitment to Jewish values.”
Previous winners have included business owner and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; actors Michael Douglas and Barbra Streisand; violinist Itzhak Perlman; sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor; filmmaker Steven Spielberg; New England Patriots owner and founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism Robert Kraft; and Sharansky.
The Argentine leader came to the ceremony in central Jerusalem from the City of David just outside the walled Old City, where he dedicated a plaque highlighting the friendship between the people of Argentina and Israel. A similar recognition of the history-rich site was made by the United States in 2020.
“This place is essentially the foundation of the entire world,” he said.
Earlier in the morning, Milei received a special printed edition of the Bible known as the Jerusalem Crown after an address at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on his economic reforms.
The award capped a busy four-day visit by Milei to the Jewish state, which included a historic speech at Israel’s parliament in which he pledged to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem next year, as well as the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding against antisemitism with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The short afternoon ceremony included various musical interludes, including the 1971 Carole King classic song “You’ve Got a Friend.”
“In this difficult moment, I accompany you with a fraternal hug and a sincere ‘Am Yisrael Chai,’” Milei said using the Hebrew phrase for “the people of Israel live” to applause and a standing ovation.