Oh, I can’t deal with these Argentinians anymore, they who love us more than we love ourselves. And we must admit: we’re really not used to this. We’re used to being hated. Love takes us out of our comfort zone.
And we’re not talking about Micronesia, or some undeclared island between the Philippines and Mars. This is Argentina: the ninth largest country in the world, 120 times larger than Israel, with a team that won the last World Cup (on penalties admittedly, but let’s not be petty).
One of them is Javier Milei, our uncle from Argentina who doesn’t stop sending gifts. A Zionist who studies Torah, he hangs out with Chabad followers, and even considered converting to Judaism. His becoming president of Argentina more than a year ago unexpectedly created for us a Zionist brotherhood front in blue and white, which recently earned Milei the Genesis Prize – “the Jewish Nobel” – for his uncompromising support of Israel.
Israel's gifts from Argentina
With the return of the bodies of the Bibas family to Israel, Milei declared a national day of mourning in Argentina – and why just one day of mourning if it can be rounded up to two? This gesture was accompanied by a mass rally in Buenos Aires with tens of thousands of Argentinians who came to support Israel, and with a city initiative, a kind of spin-off of the first idea, to change the name of “Palestine Street” in the city to “Bibas Street”! You’ve got to see it to believe it.
For Milei, this is nothing unusual. One of his most consistent activities is to move us emotionally time after time. He stood at the UN and attacked the antisemitic organization for its one-sided policies, and for the fact that non-democratic countries give scores to others on human rights issues. He waves Israeli flags at demonstrations against Hamas, dances with Jews to the tune of “Am Yisrael Chai” (The People of Israel Live), and schemes about moving the Argentinian embassy to Jerusalem. “We are with you in your war against the forces of darkness,” he told Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, the simple and natural truth that French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, would never utter.
And yes, I know what you’ll say, there are always skeptics. Some will say he’s an eccentric president, unpredictable; in his country, some call him “El Loco” – the crazy one. He appointed his sister as “First Lady,” cloned his deceased dog into six new dogs – which he claims are his political cabinet – went wild on television panels he participated in, appeared at rock concerts, and was a soccer goalkeeper.
But you know what? That’s exactly how I want them, the world’s shapers and builders of the future – colorful, brave, original, convention-breakers, uninhibited in the race for good. That’s how I like them: lovers of Israel, honest and direct, and also unpredictable. Because hey: are we predictable? Is the world predictable?
We just celebrated Purim, the time to dress up as someone else, and this column has also taken a different direction for the occasion. So, let’s raise a cup of maté (Argentina’s national drink), say “L’chaim,” and wish us all happy times like on Purim – with lots of love for Israel, love for Argentina, and goodness in our hearts.
The writer is president of WIZO.