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Argentina’s President Javier Milei to Receive $1 Million Genesis Prize During Israel Visit
Argentina’s President Javier Milei attends a commemoration event ahead of the anniversary of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 17, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Martin Cassarini
Argentine President Javier Milei is set to receive the prestigious $1 million Genesis Prize during his visit to Israel next month, honoring his strong advocacy for the Jewish state and commitment to Jewish values.
After postponing a planned visit in March, Milei is now scheduled to receive the award during a June 11 ceremony at Israel’s parliament, known as the Knesset, where he will also deliver a formal address.
During his visit, he is expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Jewish state to strengthen cooperation against terrorism and antisemitism. He is also scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a press release earlier this year, The Genesis Prize Foundation announced Milei as the 2025 Genesis Prize Laureate, recognizing what the organization described as his unwavering support for Israel, dedication to democratic values, and resolute fight against terrorism and antisemitism.
“The Prize Selection Committee unanimously chose Milei — the first head of state to receive the award — for his unequivocal and vocal support of Israel during one of the most difficult times since the founding of the Jewish State,” the statement read.
Congratulations to President of Argentina @JMilei, announced today as the 2025 Genesis Prize Laureate. The Prize Selection Committee unanimously chose Milei – the first head of state to receive the award – for his unequivocal and vocal support of Israel during one of the most… pic.twitter.com/baY24lL5Yh
— The Genesis Prize (@TheGenesisPrize) January 14, 2025
Established in 2013, the annual $1 million prize — dubbed the “Jewish Nobel” by TIME magazine — honors individuals “for their outstanding professional achievements, contribution to humanity, and deep commitment to Jewish values.”
“President Milei is a true hero of the Jewish people,” Stan Polovets, co-founder and chairman of The Genesis Prize Foundation, said in a statement. “Unlike leaders of many other countries around the world who either remained quiet, pressured and — in some cases — sanctioned Israel, President Milei has unequivocally supported the Jewish people and their state.”
“This award reflects Israel’s heartfelt appreciation for the president and the people of Argentina. A friend in need is a friend indeed,” he continued.
Past winners include director Steven Spielberg, the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, actress Natalie Portman, the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and violinist Itzhak Perlman.
Milei announced he will donate the prize money to support a new initiative dedicated to deepening diplomatic ties between Israel and Latin American nations and tackling antisemitism throughout the region.
“I am deeply honored to receive the Genesis Prize,” Milei said in a statement. “I will donate [the prize] to causes that support freedom and the fight against antisemitism, both in Argentina and around the world.”
“I have deep admiration for Israel, its history, and its people. The Jewish people have shown throughout their history that resilience and the defense of freedom are essential to overcoming any challenge,” the South America leader continued. “This spirit is a cornerstone of the relationship between Argentina and Israel, and I will work to further strengthen our ties.”
Since taking office over a year ago, Milei has been one of Israel’s most vocal supporters, strengthening bilateral relations to unprecedented levels and in the process breaking with decades of Argentine foreign policy tradition to firmly align with Jerusalem and Washington.
He is being recognized not only for reversing Argentina’s decades-long pattern of anti-Israel votes at the United Nations, but also for his efforts to combat terrorism. These include the designation of Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations and the reopening of investigations into the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy and the 1994 terrorist attack on the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.
Less than a year after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught in Israel, Milei’s administration designated the Palestinian Islamist group as a terrorist organization — making Argentina the first Latin American country to do so — with Paraguay joining the effort just last month.
The Argentine president has also activated Interpol red notices in connection with the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires. Last month, the lead prosecutor in the case petitioned Argentina’s federal court to issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s so-called “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, over his alleged involvement in the deadly terrorist attack.
In a significant shift from the country’s previous approach to the case, Sebastián Basso — who succeeded former prosecutor Alberto Nisman after his murder in 2015 — argued that Khamenei was directly involved in planning the 1994 AMIA bombing. This was the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentina’s history, in which 85 people were killed and more than 300 wounded.
In February 2024, on his first international trip as president, Milei visited Israel in a show of wartime solidarity and reiterated his pledge to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem.
Earlier this year, more than 30 members of the Argentine Congress signed a Declaration of Solidarity and Friendship with the State of Israel in the Buenos Aires parliament. The declaration emphasized their unwavering support for Israel’s right to exist in peace and security, while also expressing strong backing for the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The post Argentina’s President Javier Milei to Receive $1 Million Genesis Prize During Israel Visit first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says It Would Reduce Troops in Lebanon if Beirut Takes Steps to Disarm Hezbollah
An Israeli tank is positioned on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, March 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
Israel on Monday signaled it would scale back its military presence in southern Lebanon if the Lebanese armed forces took action to disarm Iran-backed Shi’ite terrorist group Hezbollah.
The announcement from the Israeli prime minister’s office came a day after Benjamin Netanyahu met with US envoy Tom Barrack, who has been heavily involved in a plan that would disarm Hezbollah and withdraw Israeli forces from Lebanon.
“If the Lebanese Armed Forces take the necessary steps to implement the disarmament of Hezbollah, Israel will engage in reciprocal measures, including a phased reduction” by the Israeli military, the Israeli prime minister’s office said.
The statement did not explicitly say if Israeli forces would fully withdraw from the five positions they hold in Lebanon.
The Israeli military has maintained a presence in southern Lebanon near the border since agreeing to a United States-backed ceasefire with Hezbollah in November.
Israel was to withdraw its forces within two months and Lebanon‘s armed forces were to take control of the country’s south, territory that has long been a stronghold for Hezbollah.
This month, Lebanon‘s cabinet tasked the army with drawing up a plan to establish state control over arms by December, a challenge to Hezbollah, which has rejected calls to disarm.
The prime minister’s office described the Lebanese cabinet’s decision to back the move as a momentous decision. Israel stood “ready to support Lebanon in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah,” the statement said without saying what support it could provide.
Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, has said Israel should comply with the plan for Hezbollah disarmament, which would mean the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The Israeli military continues to carry out periodic air strikes in Lebanon that it said targeted Hezbollah terrorists and facilities used by the Islamist group to store weapons.
Palestinian factions in Lebanon surrendered some weapons to the armed forces last week as part of the disarmament plan.
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Syria Says Israel Takes Some Territory Around Mount Hermon Despite Talks
Israeli forces operate at a location given as Mount Hermon region, Syria, in this handout image released Dec. 9, 2024. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS
Syria said on Monday that Israel had sent 60 soldiers to take control of an area inside the Syrian border around Mount Hermon, saying the operation violated its sovereignty and posed a further threat to regional security.
Israel did not immediately comment on the accusation by Syria‘s foreign ministry, which comes as the two countries engage in US-mediated talks on de-escalating their conflict in southern Syria. Damascus hopes to reach a security arrangement that could eventually pave the way for broader political talks.
Monday’s incident took place near a strategic hilltop that overlooks Beit Jinn, an area of southern Syria close to the border with Lebanon, the ministry said. Israel also arrested six Syrians there, according to residents in the area.
The area is known for arms smuggling by Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group and by Palestinian jihadist factions. Previous Israeli incursions have mostly been in the southern Quneitra governorate.
The Israeli military on Sunday shared footage of what it said were troops locating weapons storage facilities last week in southern Syria.
“This dangerous escalation is considered a direct threat to regional peace and security,” the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Israel has cited its own security concerns for its military interventions inside Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad last December, including what it sees as its obligation to protect members of the Druze minority in southern Syria.
Hundreds of people were reported killed in clashes last month in the southern province of Sweida between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and government forces. Israel intervened with airstrikes to prevent what it said was mass killings of Druze by the Syrian government forces.
In January, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli troops would remain on the summit of Mount Hermon indefinitely.
Israel has since then formed a de facto security zone, where it regularly patrols, sets up checkpoints, and carries out searches and raids in villages.
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Widespread Anti-Israel Protests Held in Australia
Demonstrators hold a placard as they take part in the ‘Nationwide March for Palestine’ protest in Sydney, Australia, Aug. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Thousands of Australians joined anti-Israel rallies on Sunday, organizers said, amid strained relations between Israel and Australia following the center-left government’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state.
More than 40 protests took place across Australia on Sunday, Palestine Action Group said, including large turnouts in state capitals Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. The group said around 350,000 attended the rallies nationwide, including around 50,000 in Brisbane, though police estimated the numbers there at closer to 10,000. Police did not have estimates for crowd sizes in Sydney and Melbourne.
In Sydney, organizer Josh Lees said Australians were out in force to “demand an end to this genocide in Gaza and to demand that our government sanction Israel” as rallygoers, many with Palestinian flags, chanted “free, free Palestine.”
Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for more than 200 Jewish organizations, told Sky News television that the rallies created “an unsafe environment and shouldn’t be happening.”
The protests follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week stepping up his personal attacks on his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese over his government’s decision this month to recognize a Palestinian state.
Diplomatic ties between Australia and Israel soured after Albanese’s Labor government said it would conditionally recognize Palestinian statehood, following similar moves by France, Britain, and Canada.
The Aug. 11 announcement came days after tens of thousands of people marched across Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge, calling for peace and aid deliveries to Gaza, where Israel began an offensive nearly two years ago after the Hamas terrorist group launched a deadly cross-border attack.