A New Campaign to Draft Yeshiva Bochurim
I sometimes try to make predictions in this column, which often turn out to be correct. This time, I have another prediction to make but I am davening to be proven wrong.
Based on the indications that I am seeing, it seems that the issue of drafting yeshiva bochurim is about to take center stage in the public eye for quite a while. Even putting aside the fact that there is no law currently in force that grants deferments to talmidei yeshivos—and the Supreme Court will soon be dealing with the petitions demanding the conscription of all the yeshiva bochurim in the country due to the absence of such a law—there is a major outcry arising now over the fact that yeshiva bochurim are not serving in the army. The vociferous objections to the status quo are coming from IDF officers, politicians, and media figures. Two media outlets (the newspaper Makor Rishon and the radio station Galei Tzahal) have taken it upon themselves to run their own campaigns on this subject. The national religious community is adding its own voice to the outcry against the chareidi sector.
There is something especially infuriating about the fact that most vocal critics of the deferments for bnei yeshivos are people who didn’t exactly serve in the army themselves, or who performed only a marginal form of service. A large number of the journalists who are calling for yeshiva bochurim to “share the burden” spent their own army years in Galei Tzahal, which did not amount to any form of risk or self-sacrifice. But making this point isn’t going to help the yeshiva bochurim. From a public relations standpoint, this is a very thorny situation for the chareidi community. The typical secular Israeli does not understand chareidim, and it is almost impossible to explain this subject to him.
Of course, this issue was catapulted into the headlines by the current war and the manpower shortage in the IDF. The army is suffering from a shortage of combat soldiers, and they are now planning to increase the number of days of reserve service required of the average citizen.
I don’t want to get into the details of this issue, because I was always taught to avoid drawing public attention to such matters. I was warned about this by none other than Rav Shach himself, at the very beginning of my journalistic career. I will tell you only this: A very bad and very frightening campaign is beginning here in Eretz Yisroel. I don’t want to quote the words that were written this week by a senior figure in the national religious community, but I will tell you that he presented rebuttals (in his mind) for every argument that has been made in favor of placing Torah learning over army service. If someone like that can write such things, then it is a sign of trouble. May Hashem protect us all!
Golus Among Jews
It is no secret that all of us in Eretz Yisroel are living in golus despite being among other Jews. We have long grown accustomed to it. But for those of us who may forget this reality from time to time, there are also occasional reminders. Here is one of them: Last Thursday night, some miscreants (possibly non-Jews, or Jews who had been incited to vandalism, or someone who was paid to commit a crime) broke into the Belzer bais medrash in Kiryat Gat. Not only did the intruders steal everything they could find, they also left a trail of destruction in their wake: They ripped the doors off the aron kodesh, threw the sifrei Torah on the floor in disgrace, and stole the crowns and other silver adornments of the sifrei Torah. They also broke into the institution’s office and ransacked the place. It was nothing but destruction for its own sake—vicious vandalism of a shul in Eretz Yisroel.
The deputy commander of the Kiryat Gat police station reported, “Aside from the crime of breaking and entering, which is serious enough on its own, the perpetrators also stole sacred items with sentimental value to the community of mispallelim in this shul and to the Jewish people as a whole. We are investing all the necessary resources in an effort to determine the perpetrators’ identity and to retrieve the stolen property.”
Michoel Malchieli, the Minister of Religious Affairs, reacted to the incident by declaring, “Throwing sifrei Torah on the floor and desecrating a shul belonging to a chassidish community in Kiryat Gat are unfathomably horrific actions that are an affront to every Jewish soul. I am confident that the officers of the Israel Police Force will apprehend the perpetrators very quickly and will bring them to justice to deter others from following their example.”
The crime was also denounced by Meir Porush and Yisroel Eichler, the representative of Belz in the Knesset. Eichler described the incident as a “pogrom” and demanded that it be prosecuted as a hate crime. He also insisted that it was an outgrowth of the hatemongering against yeshiva bochurim. “When media figures and politicians allow themselves to speak out against religion on every platform,” Eichler said, “it should come as no surprise that the kedushah of a shul and its sifrei Torah has become cheap in the eyes of those who committed this terrible crime. The discourse of incitement must be stopped immediately, and honor must be restored to our faith and tradition. Otherwise, we will witness many more such disgraceful actions, since these ruffians do not have any limits.”
There was another recent incident, albeit of a different kind, that might have caused us to forget that we are living in Eretz Yisroel. Last weekend, fierce demonstrations erupted in Yerushalayim after the police demanded permission to perform an autopsy of the body of a 13-year-old boy who had passed away in Beit Shemesh. When the police arrived at the scene to suppress the demonstrations, they didn’t even limit themselves to committing acts of violence against the protestors; they brutally attacked everyone in the area, in an act of collective punishment. The police also brought out the notorious skunk water, which was sprayed by a large cannon in every direction and even entered private homes in the area of Rechov Yechezkel. My office in the Knesset received numerous calls from dozens of talmidim in Yeshivas Rashi who complained that their clothes, their linens, and their other personal belongings were ruined by the foul-smelling liquid. The police thus caused damage worth hundreds of shekels to every individual bochur. This episode is yet another sign that we are in golus.
Does Hamas Have Spies in the IDF?
Every day brings more stories of heroism and miracles in the course of this war. We are constantly hearing about people who survived the horrors and who resolved to bolster their connections to Yiddishkeit, and we are also learning about more and more failures that led to the disaster of October 7. With every passing day, it becomes even more blatantly obvious that the army and the Israeli government were held captive by the misconception that Hamas had been deterred from further acts of terror, to the point that they ignored unmistakable warning signs of the impending tragedy. This should certainly be grounds for forming an investigative committee, which should also look into the shortage of vital equipment for the soldiers.
The latest bombshell revelation was brought to us by Yisrael Hayom¸ which quoted a high-ranking official in the Military Intelligence Directorate, who has been on active duty since the beginning of the war and asserted that the IDF was likely exposed to Hamas intelligence before the October 7 attack. “The investigative commission will have to examine how Hamas had so much internal information about activities on the IDF’s top secret bases,” he said.
This official’s comments came on the heels of several other recent revelations, most notably the discovery of a Hamas underground base beneath the headquarters of UNRWA in Gaza last week. “The Nukhba terrorists had information about the IDF’s most sensitive sites, which are kept under wraps within the army itself,” the officer told the newspaper. “We must investigate how this information reached them. These are details that IDF commanders didn’t even tell their friends.” He explained that this points to a twofold failure of the Shin Bet.
The intelligence agency was responsible for gathering information about Hamas’s plans, and we already know that it failed in that respect. The Shin Bet is also responsible for preventing enemy spies from gathering intelligence within Israel. Now that we know that Hamas had far more information than it could possibly have collected with drones and other surveillance devices, there is reason to suspect that the terror group engaged in extensive espionage within Israel, although the specifics are still unclear. It is quite possible that they were aided by someone within the Israeli army. “This is something that must not be covered up; it will have to be investigated after the war,” the officer said.
Nothing but Enmity from the UN
The United Nations, at its headquarters in New York and Europe as well as in UNRWA, seems to have made itself an enemy of Israel. Knesset speaker Amir Ochana, who was in New York last week, called off a meeting with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in response to the latter’s comments about Israel. The latest outrageous comments came from Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special envoy to the Palestinian territories, who wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron, “The victims of the massacre on October 7 weren’t massacred because of their Jewishness. They were massacred because of Israeli oppression.” This was in response to Macron’s statement that the October 7 massacre was the worst slaughter of Jews in the current century. The UN representative responded, “No, Mr. Macron, the victims of the massacre on October 7 weren’t massacred because of their Jewishness. They were massacred because of Israeli oppression [of the Palestinians], which France and the international community have done nothing to prevent.”
Albanese apparently realized that she had gone to far, because she soon followed up with a “clarification” of her statement: “I am sorry that some people read my post as justifying Hamas’s crimes, which I have forcefully condemned several times. I reject any racism, including anti-Semitism. At the same time, attributing these crimes to anti-Semitism blurs the real reason that they occurred.” Albanese has long been known as a very problematic figure in terms of her attitude to Israel. In the past, she was even barred from entering the Palestinian territories. In November 2022, she addressed a convention of Hamas and Islamic Jihad over Zoom, telling the terror groups that “you have the right to oppose the occupation.” So much for the UN’s objectivity….
In spite of Israel’s low expectations of the UN, Ambassador Gilad Erdan is doing his best to represent Israel in the international organization. Erdan recently marked the first birthday of Kfir Bibas, the baby who was kidnapped from Nir Oz on Simchas Torah along with his parents and brother, in the UN. Placing a birthday cake on the podium to remind the ambassadors of their duty to fight to bring Kfir home, Erdan announced, “Kfir’s abduction has become symbolic of the most despicable cruelty known to mankind—the cruelty of Hamas.” Erdan went on to speak about the hostages’ suffering and the harsh conditions under which they were held, and he pointed out that the UN General Assembly, like the other bodies of the United Nations, hadn’t even condemned the wholesale slaughter.
“Kfir has already spent one quarter of his life in captivity,” Erdan said. “He was abducted before he was even able to say the word ‘Mommy.’ Is he receiving the food and vitamins that he needs to grow and develop? Is he crawling? How can a baby be a target for warfare? What sort of monsters are able to deliberately take a baby into captivity and treat him like an enemy? Above all, it is heartbreaking that for the United Nations, the pain of a small, innocent infant has been completely forgotten as if he did not exist. For Heaven’s sake, this child is going to celebrate his firth birthday in captivity! Why are you silent?” Turning to the president of the assembly, Erdan said, “Mr. President, I would like to ask for Kfir’s birthday cake to remain here on the speaker’s stand as a painful reminder, so that anyone who speaks here today will remember Kfir and our obligation to bring him home. I will continue reminding you of your moral obligation to fight for Kfir and for his right to celebrate his birthday.”
Unfortunately, intelligence gathered by Israel seems to indicate that the Bibas family was murdered by the terrorists in Gaza.
Supreme Court Rejects Demand to Permit Chometz on IDF Bases
It is no secret that the Supreme Court rules this country. It is also no secret that the judges of the Supreme Court invariably rule against the chareidim and religion. This week brought us an apparent exception to the rule, but do not let it confuse you. The judges have not seen the error of their ways.
The case concerned a petition against an order in the army that prohibits the possession of chometz on IDF bases during Pesach. The petitioners based their arguments on the infamous court case concerning chometz in hospitals on Pesach, in which the Supreme Court unabashedly ruled that chometz should be permitted on hospital premises, in outright defiance of Jewish law. This time, however, Judge Gila Canfy-Steinitz rejected the petition, explaining that there was no basis for the court to intervene in IDF protocols on this issue. Incidentally, Mrs. Canfy-Steinitz is the wife of Yuval Steinitz, a Likud party member who held a ministerial post in the government until not long ago.
Let me give you some background to this subject. The IDF considers itself an “army of the people” and therefore has certain rules that are intended to make army service possible for the general public. For instance, the IDF kitchens are required to be kosher. The army’s rules do not prohibit the private consumption of nonkosher food; after all, the army includes tens of thousands of non-Jews or Jews who do not observe the laws of kashrus. Nevertheless, the rules do prohibit the possession of chometz on army bases on Pesach. The petitioners argued that the ban on chometz should be limited to the kitchens. They also denounced the alleged practice of army officers who inspect the personal belongings of soldiers on the bases to ensure that no chometz was smuggled onto the premises, and they objected to the fact that the ban on chometz goes into effect two days before Pesach. In its response to the court, the state denied that soldiers’ belongings are searched for chometz and explained that the ban must take effect in advance of Pesach to permit the kitchens to be koshered for the Yom Tov. They also explained that the severity of the halachic prohibition of chometz on Pesach, which includes even the possession of a minuscule quantity of chometz, justifies the sweeping ban on such items on army bases, and added that the universal no-chometz rule helps preserve cohesion within the army units.
The judge, Canfy-Steinitz, wrote in her ruling that the ban on possessing chometz—which was the main topic of the petition and the only aspect on which the court issued a temporary injunction—does infringe on the constitutional right to personal autonomy and possibly on the freedom of religion of individual soldiers who might wish to consume chometz on Pesach. Nevertheless, she said, this infringement meets the test of the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. She considered it a relatively low impact, since the ban is in effect for only a few days out of the year and applies in the context of army service, which entails many other curtailments of personal liberties. Therefore, she concluded that the ban on chometz in the IDF could be allowed to stand. The bottom line, though, is that the judge didn’t suddenly find value in the observance of the laws of kashrus, as one might hope upon hearing about her verdict. All she did was weigh the arguments on both sides and determine that the harm to the soldiers who wish to eat chometz on Pesach isn’t very significant.
The judge added that this limited infringement on individual rights can be allowed due to an important public interest: The IDF must continue fulfilling its obligation to provide kosher food to the soldiers on Pesach and must maintain unity within its ranks. The ban on chometz is necessary to ensure the kashrus of the food served during the holiday and to prevent observant soldiers from suffering hardship while sharing their living quarters with soldiers who have chometz in their possession, which would be disruptive to their daily lives and would impair the cohesion of their units. She also accepted the state’s argument that soldiers who observe kashrus are not permitted to stay in rooms where chometz is kept due to the prohibition of bal yeiraeh u’bal yimatzei. Even if there are some halachic authorities who permit it, she added, the fact that the IDF’s chief rabbi prohibits it is sufficient to warrant the ban, again due to the importance of cohesion within the army. This argument works against the desires of secular soldiers in this case, but in other situations, such as when the army requires soldiers to attend performances featuring women’s singers or when soldiers engage in chillul Shabbos in their rooms, the religious soldiers suffer harm for the same reason. In general, the judge explained, soldiers are required to make mutual concessions in their personal spaces for the purpose of living together, which is considered vital to achieve the purposes of the army. The judge also stressed that according to the army’s affidavit, the personal belongings of soldiers or other visitors to the bases should not be searched for chometz, and the IDF should make sure that these rules are known and should address any complaints about unwarranted searches. The other two judges on the panel signed the ruling as well, signaling their agreement with her arguments.
The bottom line is that, in case anyone felt that this verdict was a good reason to be hopeful for the future, it’s impossible to predict how the court will rule when the next petition is filed against a religious practice.
Dramatic Rise in Anti–Semitism
This week, I received a copy of Mizkor, the publication of the Center for Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel, and I shuddered upon reading the opening lines of Colette Avital’s article. “In 2013 there were 751 anti-Semitic incidents recorded in America,” Avital wrote. “In 2022, the number reached 3697. In the two weeks after the Hamas attack, there was an increase of 400 percent compared to the same period last year.” Jews are living in fear, she proclaimed.
Kehillos, the excellent weekly supplement of Hamevasser, reported last week that anti-Semitism in France has risen by 1000 percent. This is based on the information shared by CRIF, the umbrella organization of all the Jewish organizations in France. The article also quotes a speech delivered by Rav Chaim Korsia, the chief rabbi of France and one of the heads of the Conference of European Rabbis, who spoke at an important ceremony held by the EU in Strasbourg.
But let’s return to Mizkor, which quoted statistics provided by the Anti-Defamation League on December 7. As of that date, 200 anti-Semitic incidents had been reported in Argentina, 467 in Brazil, and an average of 29 per day in Germany. This is a pattern that is being mirrored throughout the world. Amazingly, not only did the Hamas attack on Israel fail to generate a wave of sympathy for the Jews, it actually led to a major spike in anti-Semitic incidents. How horrific!
Last week, I heard an outstanding speech in the Knesset during a session marking the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Here is a brief excerpt: “Let us not forget the roots of this most horrific tragedy—the burning hatred for the Jewish people. The hatred reached its height in genocide in the most literal sense. It began with blazing hatred for the Jewish people, their land, and their faith. The Holocaust is behind us, but the hatred that fueled it is still here…. As a person who grew up in France and was born in France, I remember the vibrant communal life that we had there. Today, my friends and family members who are still there are afraid to walk in the streets. We have been hearing about many Jews who have changed their lifestyles, hidden identifying Jewish symbols, and removed mezuzos from the doorposts in their homes. Jewish facilities have become fortresses with high walls and constant security. Since October 7, anti-Semitic incidents throughout the world have increased by 235 percent, but in France the increase is about 1000 percent…. Even today, the enemies of Israel openly proclaim that their goal is to wipe out the Jewish people and to destroy the Jewish state. This must be met with strong, determined, and forceful opposition, with all the means necessary from all the countries of the world. I call on the international organizations: Enough with the hypocrisy. You must fight and stand strong together with us in this war against terror and anti-Semitism, with no buts, no maybes, and no questioning why or how much.” He concluded his speech the way every Jew should: “May it be Hashem’s will to put an end to our troubles, and may Moshiach arrive to redeem us soon. Am Yisroel chai.”
Security Breach in Modiin Illit
Another episode in the Knesset last week seems like a story straight out of the town of Chelm. The Knesset was scheduled this week to discuss the security situation in the neighborhoods of Neot HaPisgah and Cheftzibah in Kiryat Sefer (otherwise known as Modiin Illit), but the discussion was called off at the last minute.
At the beginning of the week, MK Yosef Taib submitted an urgent motion for the agenda on the subject. “The neighborhoods of Neot HaPisgah and Cheftzibah in Modiin Illit are vulnerable to infiltrators from Bil’in due to the opening of the barriers in the concrete tunnels,” he wrote. Bil’in is the Arab village on the other side of the security fence. On Wednesday, at the request of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Taib removed the item from the agenda. Gallant’s office sent a written response bearing his signature, which did not satisfy MK Taib or the residents of Modiin Illit, but the minister’s staff promised to address the two issues that Taib pointed out. In response to their commitment to rectify the situation, MK Taib agreed to refrain from raising the issue for discussion in the Knesset, out of respect for Gallant’s request and appreciation for the fact that the minister is completely focused on the war in Gaza.
Taib explains the situation in a bit more detail in the explanatory notes accompanying his motion: “Between the neighborhoods of Neot HaPisgah and Cheftzibah and the village of Bil’in are large concrete drainage tunnels. To prevent thieves or terrorists from infiltrating the city, barriers have been placed at the openings to the tunnels, with nets fastened on the side facing Bil’in as well. However, both the barriers and the nets were recently removed, leaving the city vulnerable to infiltration. The tunnels are broad enough even to accommodate a motorcycle. This has already led to a wave of thefts, and there is concern about terror as well, chas v’sholom.”
The tunnels in question run beneath the Seam Line, which leads to the ironic reality that while the aboveground barrier is fairly well fortified, Arab intruders are capable of moving freely into and out of Israeli territory through the underground passages.
The written response to the IDF confirmed the situation as Taib had described it. Moreover, it revealed that the army itself had removed the nets on the Palestinian side of the tunnels. “During rainy weather, the directorate has a procedure for opening the nets to prevent the collapse of the barrier due to the large quantities of water passing under it,” the army explained. “This is known as a storm procedure, and we keep the amount of time the nets are removed to the minimum that is necessary to allow the passage of water.”
Over the past few weeks, the tunnels were completely open during the period from January 25 through February 4. The army claims that the nets are always removed in coordination with the relevant ground forces and that the police, rather than the army, are responsible for maintaining security. But MK Taib was contacted by residents of Modiin Illit who objected to the fact that the obstructions are removed during rainy weather. They claimed that thieves regularly infiltrate the city through those tunnels, and that terrorists with much more nefarious plans could easily make their way through the tunnels as well. They also pointed out that while the army refers the city’s residents to the police for their security needs, it is the army itself that is responsible for removing the nets. For the time being, Taib has reached an understanding with the defense minister, who pledged to devise a solution that will ensure that the tunnels remain impenetrable even when it rains.
Netanyahu Sparks Anger with Message on Shabbos
A few days ago, Israel suffered an economic blow when Moody’s announced that it was downgrading the country’s credit rating. Moody’s, which is one of the two largest and most respected such companies in the world, lowered Israel’s rating from A1 to A2 and downgraded the country’s outlook to negative, which might lead to further downgrades in the future. The main rationale cited by the company for its decision was the ongoing war against Hamas, whose ramifications include heightened risk for Israelis, weakening of its various institutions, and a reduction of its anticipated fiscal strength in the near future. The lack of a clearly projected end date for the war, as well as the absence of any long-range plan to rehabilitate and strengthen the country’s security, is seen as weighing heavily on Israel’s budget and is likely to hamper efforts to reduce the national deficit. The negative outlook reflects Moody’s view that there is a significant danger that the conflict will intensify or spread to the north and will more severely impact Israel’s economy and budget. The ratings agency predicts that Israel’s expenses for national defense in 2024 will reach double the sum from the year 2022 and that the figure will continue to rise in the coming years.
Most Israelis feel that the company’s decision was based on politics, which makes it hardly surprising that Netanyahu’s response was fierce. Prime Minister Netanyahu insisted that Israel’s economy is strong. “The decision to lower the rating had nothing to do with the economy; it is completely based on the fact that we are at war,” he said. “The rating will be restored after we win the war, and we will win.”
Unfortunately, Netanyahu chose to release this statement on Shabbos, angering his partners in the coalition. It didn’t take long for objections to pour in from every direction over his unnecessary act of chillul Shabbos.
The Key to Winning a War
Hespedim for Rav Boruch Weisbecker, the rosh yeshiva of Bais Mattisyohu, have been delivered throughout the country during the days since his passing. On motzoei Shabbos, there were four gatherings in Yerushalayim, each of which featured hespeidim delivered by gedolei Torah as well as by one of Rav Boruch’s sons or sons-in-law (typically his son and successor, Rav Tzvi Weisbecker) and one or two of his talmidim. Once again, it was striking to observe that so many of his talmidim have already gone on to become maggidei shiurim and mashgichim.
I could easily quote numerous stories or thoughts that were shared in these hespedim, but I prefer to leave you with something that I heard from him personally. When Rav Boruch Weisbecker delivered a shiur or shmuess, his voice often rose with intense passion. I was once visiting his home while he was preparing a shiur kloli to be delivered later that day, and I watched as he reviewed the text of the shiur repeatedly, making numerous corrections or improvements before sending the shiur to be reprinted with the adjustments implemented. He worked feverishly, his brow furrowed with intensity to the point that one might have thought that he was reviewing a sefer Torah. Rav Boruch was so fully immersed in his preparations that he did not even notice that I was taking a picture of him.
I observed the same feverish intensity at a shmuess that he delivered not long ago at Kollel Ohel Yiskah (which is named for the late Rebbetzin Yiskah Pincus) in Petach Tikvah. Rav Boruch spoke about the imperatives of tefillah and Torah learning during these troubled times and concluded his address with some words of encouragement.
“Everyone, especially the bnei Torah, has full confidence that Hashem will cause everything to work out for the best,” he said. “Every individual must be part of the tzibbur and give strength to others, especially by increasing his acts of virtue both bein adam laMakom and bein adam l’chaveiro. On the latter note, Rav Shteinman once asked someone, ‘What would you do if someone walked over to you in the street and slapped you?’ The man replied, ‘I wouldn’t do anything.’ Rav Shteinman then asked him, ‘And what would you do if someone did that to your son?’ The man replied, ‘If that happened, I would certainly hit him back with even more force.’
“‘You see,’ Rav Shteinman said, ‘that is the reason that Hashem is so particular about the laws of bein adam l’chaveiro. When a person commits an aveirah that is bein adam laMakom, it is an affront to Hashem, so to speak, but He easily ignores it. When it is an affront to another person, however, he has committed an offense against Hashem’s child! The Gemara states that the people who lived in Achav’s generation worshiped avodah zarah, yet when they went out to war, they were victorious. Why was that? Chazal explain that it was because there was no one among them who engaged in slander. Because they were maintained proper standards in their interpersonal behavior, they were able to be victorious in battle.’”
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Tefillos at the Kosel on Erev Rosh Chodesh
We can rely on no one but our Father in Heaven, and the fervent tefillos this past week bear witness to the recognition of this fact. Last Thursday, thousands of people streamed to the Kosel for a special davening in honor of Yom Kippur Koton and poured out their hearts to Hashem, begging for mercy for all of Klal Yisroel and for those in captivity or distress in particular. The massive gathering included thousands of people spanning the full gamut of the Jewish people and was attended by families of the hostages in Gaza as well as many gedolei Torah and chasidus. During the tefillah, the participants recited Tehillim and Slichos in response to the present situation, followed by kabbolas ol malchus Shomayim and special tefillos for salvation for Klal Yisroel as a whole and for the liberation of the hostages, the well-being of the soldiers on the front lines, comfort for the bereaved families, and healing for the wounded.
Another interesting event at the Kosel was the visit of Javier Milei, the new president of Argentina. Milei arrived directly from the airport in the company of his friend Rabbi Shimon Axel Wahnish, who is due to serve as Argentina’s ambassador to Israel. The president was also accompanied by a distinguished entourage including the chairman of his cabinet, the foreign minister of Argentina, the secretary of the presidium, and other important officials in his government. Milei met with President Yitzchok Herzog and with Prime Minister Netanyahu during his visit to Israel, but his first stop after arriving in Israel was the Kosel, where he leaned against its stones and wept with great emotion. It was an incredible sight.
At the Kosel, Milei said, “I would like to express my unreserved support for the State of Israel. I endorse the right to self-defense of the people of Israel in the face of terror. Night has never been able to vanquish day, and we will see the light and finish this war successfully.” The Argentinean president also signed the visitors’ book at the Kosel with the following message: “I ask for wisdom, courage, and strength to be a fitting conduit for the service of the Creator. Only gratitude.”
