Argentina’s President Javier Milei is scheduled to visit Israel to accept the $1 million Genesis Prize, which he was awarded earlier this year in recognition of his strong support for Israel.
Originally planned for March but postponed, the ceremony will now take place on June 11 at Israel’s Knesset, where Milei will also address the Israeli parliament.
Organizers say Milei plans to donate the prize money to fund an initiative designed to enhance diplomatic ties between Israel and Latin American countries, as well as combat antisemitism in the region.
Milei was honored for shifting Argentina’s longstanding record of anti-Israel votes at the United Nations, officially labeling Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations, and reopening investigations into the bombings of Jewish and Israeli sites in Argentina during the 1990s.
He has also pledged to relocate Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem, following the example of a few countries such as the United States that recognize the contested city as Israel’s capital. However, this embassy move is not expected to occur during his current visit.
Past recipients of the Genesis Prize include notable figures like 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 Robert Kraft, and former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky.
