President of the Argentine Republic, Javier Milei's Address to the Knesset
The address was delivered in Spanish on Wednesday, 11 June 2025 (15 Sivan 5785), Jerusalem, Knesset, 11:00 a.m.
The text below presents the full transcript of the simultaneous English translation.
Thank you very much. With the permission of my dear friend Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana, ministers, and members of the Knesset, good evening. I am honored to return to visit this great country, for which I feel such a deep appreciation. It is certainly a great honor to be the first President of Argentina to have the privilege to address the Knesset, thereby deepening the connection between the two countries, between the two peoples.
Sadly, I do not have the good fortune of visiting your country during joyous times. With the Hamas attack on October 7th, the people of Israel fell victim to the most heinous act of aggression in the last 80 years, and the world bore witness to the cruelest barbarity. At the same time, we are seeing how—along with the advance of barbaric terrorism—the dark and ancient shadow of antisemitism is once again spreading like a cancer throughout the modern world, even in countries where we thought antisemitism had been eradicated. Nazism showed us the worst of humanity, and the darkest chapter in history was written, claiming the lives of millions. But thanks to its noble sacrifice, the free world gained a new world order based on democracy and freedom.
Unfortunately, the humanitarian lessons, which until recently we believed would never be forgotten, have become increasingly blurred. We believed we had left behind atrocities like the Holocaust. We believed that we had finally put an end to barbarity. But the tragic events of October 7th awakened us from this peaceful dream and served as a brutal reminder that murderous fundamentalism is more alive than ever—and that the desire to eliminate the Jewish people, manifested in various forms throughout human history, has managed to withstand the test of time.
We Argentines experienced this firsthand with the bombings of the Israeli Embassy and the AMIA Center in 1992 and 1994, in which 114 people were killed. The most savage and devastating expression of this, of course, was in October 2023, when 251 people were kidnapped—including 21 Argentine citizens—and hundreds were murdered. There are 25 people being held hostage today, including four Argentines—David and Ariel Cunio, Lior Rudaeff, and Eitan Horn. We will continue to demand their immediate and unconditional release.
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Whether we like it or not, the West is facing a test, under attack by different types of barbaric tyranny, all of which have no connection to freedom or democracy. This is clearly terrorism. In addition, the West is being poisoned from within by barbarism in the form of the “woke” movement and the moral relativism that has disrupted our moral compass, causing even some world leaders to turn their backs on Israel.
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A note to that former climate activist, who has become a mercenary for any cause just to get some media attention. I am talking about Greta Thunberg—who played the victim and pretended that she was abducted, while dozens of Israelis, including several Argentine citizens, are truly being held in subhuman conditions by the murderous Hamas organization.
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The point is that the way these basic moral principles have been corrupted is too costly, as it paves the way for terrorism by legitimizing the claims and methods of a gang of unscrupulous killers. How can the free world allow Hamas, a murderous terrorist organization, to continue holding innocent civilians hostage? How can people sit comfortably from afar and dare to criticize the conduct of the war, during which the enemy has repeatedly committed the most despicable crimes and shows no regard for the truth? The two sides in this struggle are the good and the evil. There is no moral equivalence here.
Argentina will not stand by. As I declared in my first appearance at the United Nations, Argentina will make its voice heard and will certainly stand up to defend nations like ours who want to protect Western civilization as a way of life—a political and civic understanding based on the protection of property, life, and liberty. We must stand together and preserve this heritage by establishing new diplomatic, military, and economic ties—a kind of alliance of the free nations.
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Since the beginning of my term, I have said that I consider Israel and the United States to be our two main strategic partners. Our methods, our positions, are diametrically opposed to those of the previous governments. In the past, we partnered with tyrants. They sided with intolerance and oppression, as that was the direction they wanted the country to follow. We chose freedom and Western and democratic values—the same values that Israel upholds, despite being in an area where these values are scarce.
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The fact that we share the same ideals makes us partners, but the strong bonds between nations make us friends. Proof of this is the fact that Argentina is home to the largest Jewish community in South America, the seventh largest Jewish community in the world. Moreover, Argentina was one of the first countries to recognize the State of Israel.
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Our government affirms Israel's right to defend itself, and we want to honor the historic friendship that unites our peoples and strengthens our commercial, economic, and diplomatic ties.
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Accordingly, we did not hesitate to declare Hamas a terrorist organization, and I am proud to announce to you that in 2026 we will move our embassy to Jerusalem, to the western part of the city, as promised.
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As many of you know, tomorrow we will sign a memorandum of understanding between our nations, a memorandum on freedom, democracy, and the fight against terrorism and antisemitism.
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My brothers and sisters in Israel, Argentina stands by you in these difficult times.
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Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for much of the international community, which has allowed itself to be manipulated by terrorist propaganda. It turns the victims into perpetrators, and a country like Israel, defending itself against barbarism, is portrayed as the aggressor. With tremendous hypocrisy, people are willing to accept acts of terrorism. It is important to understand that we are in the midst of a moral and existential battle between good and evil, and we began to lose this battle as soon as we stopped being able to distinguish between the two. This is a battle where the entire future of humanity and civilization hangs in the balance. If we lose, it will allow barbarism to advance.
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The international community must urgently reconnect with its moral compass and decide whether it wants to stand with terrorism or with freedom, whether it prefers good or evil, life or death.
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To decide, you simply have to look at the facts: on one side you have barbaric terrorism that kills and destroys, that lies and distorts; and on the other—a country, a nation fighting for its right to exist, the only stronghold of freedom and democracy in the region.
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Both the Jewish people and the State of Israel, along with its citizens, have brought about many miracles, and all of humanity is eternally indebted to them. The first of these miracles was the establishment of a sovereign state after suffering the greatest crime against humanity the world has ever seen—the Holocaust. The second miracle is the physical survival of the State of Israel in the face of repeated attacks by its enemies, who have tried to destroy it again and again and continue to do so today. In fact, Israel faced the first attack from its neighbors only a few hours after the establishment of the state was declared—and succeeded in repelling it. As the Maccabees said: Victory in battle does not depend on the size of the army, but on the strength that comes from heaven.
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Israel managed to survive this first attack and all subsequent attacks, managing to defend itself thanks to its defense and intelligence capabilities. On that note, I would also like to mention an anecdote related to Borges, that Bibi, my dear friend, has already quoted. In 1969, Jorge Luis Borges visited Israel for ten days and expressed a deep appreciation for the country. He said, and I quote: “I felt that the entire country was in a state of war and that everyone was ready for anything at any given moment, and that this expectation was a courageous hope.” He concluded: “I admire Israel, because in a world of cowards, it has shown courage and defended its right to exist.”
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The third miracle is the meteoric rise of the State of Israel in the fields of entrepreneurship and technology. Throughout history, the Jewish people have always been recognized as a diligent and productive people. Today, you can clearly see why: it is the country with the largest number of startups per capita. It is a technological powerhouse with companies that provide services and goods to countries all over the world. It is a leader in various sectors, from software to agriculture.
In this context, we can also talk about the fourth miracle—Israel's agricultural revolution, which helped make the wilderness bloom. You have managed to grow food on land where nothing else has grown, overcoming the most challenging elements of nature. Just as God provided the Jewish people with the manna from heaven to feed and nourish them during the exodus from Egypt, so too can the State of Israel today grow its own food.
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Another and no less significant miracle worth noting, and I say this as an economist, is the economic miracle that Israel achieved in the 1980s, when it succeeded in controlling hyperinflation that reached 444% annually. The economic reforms carried out were so successful that even today, after a year and a half of fighting, the Israeli economy is stable and strong.
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And when we speak of miracles—we also speak of resilience and overcoming the difficulties that life presents. Mark Twain once wondered what the secret of the Jewish people's eternity was. Perhaps you can find an answer to this question in this week's Torah portion. When the Jews came out of slavery in Egypt, they went on a journey, wandering through the desert. The portion tells us that they journeyed with the Ark of the Covenant, which went before them. Commentators explained that the Ark went before them to protect them, to pave the way for them, and guide them on their way. It also contained the Tablets of the Covenant with the Ten Commandments. This is your history; this is your essence. Each and every one of you carries within you this freedom of the Exodus and the morality and spirituality embodied in the Ten Commandments.
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In response to Mark Twain, this is the secret to the eternity of the Jewish people, who remain true to these timeless values regardless of changes in circumstances. Circumstances are always changing, but good is always good and evil is always evil. All it takes is the wisdom to know the difference between them and the courage to act in accordance with this understanding, in the words of King David.
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Meanwhile, Argentina is undergoing its own exodus. It is breaking free from 100 years of political past. Our country has become one of the countries with the largest tax burden in the world. According to the latest survey conducted by the World Bank a few years ago, the tax burden on profits from businesses was 106%, that is, for legal businesses. This guaranteed economic ruin. And in fact, in fiscal terms, the citizens of Argentina were the property of the state, which forced them to escape the clutches of the government’s fiscal bondage.
We Argentines—or in fact, our government—inherited a poverty rate of over 50%. So the Argentine people did as the Jewish people did in the past and chose the uncertainty of freedom over the destruction of enslavement. They chose a new person who was an outsider to politics to lead the nation, because they realized Argentina could not be changed with the same old familiar faces.
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A year and a half ago, we launched an unprecedented model for our population based on fiscal balance, private investment, and the protection of life, liberty, and property—because without protection for these three moral anchors, there would be no investments. As a result of this paradigm shift, it is now common to hear people all over the world talking about Argentina's tremendous economic miracle. We won the election with the promise that we would trade more and trade better, but first we had to open ourselves up to trade. We faced the entire establishment, and they were willing to do anything to halt our progress. Therefore, we had to be prepared to do whatever it took to ensure this all went ahead. We adopted an approach focused on bringing order to macroeconomics, cleaning up the central bank, and achieving some control over the currency.
There are three pillars that we reiterated and that are etched in the memory of every Argentine: the fiscal, economic, and exchange rate anchors. The exchange rate pillar has already reached its goal, and the progress of the exchange rate depends on the commitment to the other two pillars. So we have a model of zero deficit, zero money printing, and zero exchange rate gap.
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In order to restore macroeconomic order, we had to tackle the fiscal deficit. We took action against unnecessary expenses that politicians placed on the shoulders of Argentines and then used those funds for their own political needs. Thanks to this, we reached a fiscal surplus one month after taking office, which everyone said would be impossible. We have managed to maintain this surplus for 17 months, something that has not happened in Argentina for over 100 years. In fact, Argentina is emerging as a leader in the area of financial surplus.
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We intend to continue cutting any non-essential government expenditures that can be replaced by private investment. We will also veto any bill that threatens our fiscal stability. In the words of Friedman and Rothbard, the real tax burden lies in the size of the government.
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To clean up the central bank, we had to defuse two huge time bombs left for us by the previous government: first, the avalanche of money printing, and second, the rebuilding of the central bank's assets. This was achieved thanks to an agreement reached in April with the International Monetary Fund. All of this allowed us to remove currency controls, which had been holding back the system. By preventing dollars from leaving, we were also blocking investments from coming in.
I am telling you all this to show you that we have been able to restore the macroeconomic order through market-based solutions without relying on debt, because trust is a cornerstone of economic growth. No one can trust a country that will not let you do what you want with the fruits of your labor and investment, and no one will ever trust a country that borrows money without any intention of paying it back.
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It is no coincidence that we inherited a risk rating of 2700 basis points. Today, we are on our way to 600, and we are looking to drop even further below 600.
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At this time, about a year and a half after taking office, we are focused on the right conditions that will allow trade to thrive, and we are actually seeing highly promising numbers. When we formed the government, we called on the world to judge us by our intentions, and today, we call on you to judge us by the results we have achieved in less than two years.
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Economic activity in the first quarter grew by 6%, and today, in the second quarter, it stands at 8%—after making the largest adjustment in history: a 15% change in our GDP.
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Vehicle registrations increased by 90% year over year. These were the best quarterly results since 2018. April saw the highest number of mortgages granted and the highest number of property sales in our most populated provinces since tracking began in 2005. Housing starts increased by nearly 6%. In aviation and air transport, we broke record after record. In February, we saw the highest number of air travelers in Argentina's history. April was the strongest April ever, surpassing the previous record set in April 2018 by 9%, with a 21% increase in international travelers and a 13% increase in domestic flights.
Oil production in Vaca Muerta increased by 22% in April and gas production increased by 7.3% during the same period. For this year's production, we have recorded the best quarter to date—and that is based only on some of the data published in recent weeks. We have been seeing this kind of news for months, which the media of course does not like to report.
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All of this is happening in part because inflation is falling significantly. In less than a year, all of this will become nothing but a bad memory. Demand for money is rising because the Argentine peso is no longer melting in the hands of those who hold it. Another reason is that wages in the private sector have been rising over the past three months. I would like to share with you that when we looked at the real macroeconomic variables, the poverty rate was 57%. In other words, 57% of Argentina's population was below the poverty line. And today, more than a year later, after implementing the largest pro-market reform in history, the poverty rate stands at 35%.
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At times, the data may seem cold when stating that the poverty rate has dropped by 22%, but in terms of the number of people annually, this means that 10 million Argentines were lifted out of poverty in just one year.
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In other words, by reducing inflation, we are actually enabling economic improvement, so that all Argentines can plan their finances for a longer period. Banks can also extend credit for loans, which allows ordinary people to buy things that previously seemed unattainable— cars, homes, household appliances. On top of that, we now have a regime of large-scale investment incentives, which is a fiscal and regulatory framework for investments worth over $200 million. We have already approved four investment projects totaling $12.5 billion, and we are reviewing ten more worth several additional billions—and this is just the beginning.
We have entered a new phase in our government, the deep chainsaw phase, which will successfully cut through geological layers of taxes and restrictions on the free market. It is always important for me to emphasize that we came into power to make Argentina the freest country, and we will not rest until we make this a reality. We have already implemented more than 2,500 reforms in a year and a half.
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Our job is to remove the obstacles and shackles standing in the way of the growth train that aims to advance at the fastest pace and turn Argentina into the most dynamic place in the world. And all those who share this goal are welcome to join us. And to those still hesitant, I want to tell you that the best seats on the train are always snapped up quickly. If Israel, a small desert country, has managed to become a world leader in so many areas by following the dream of freedom, think about what Argentina—the ninth largest country in the world—is capable of doing now that it has adopted the same approaches. We have mineral-rich mountains, deserts filled with oil and gas, tourist-friendly landscapes, world famous wine and meat, and of course, the best soccer players in the world.
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We have all the necessary conditions to turn this practically endless potential into energy that will keep the growth train moving forever. And just as Israel has done in the Middle East—Argentina will shine from the south and lead other countries on the path of progress. We can be a compass for the West, which has lost touch with the values it once represented, and I cannot think of a better place for that than Israel. Values are part of Israel's foundation, and this is a good starting point for reconnecting with ourselves.
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For me, on a personal level, I have always considered freedom to be the greatest of all values. Freedom is the ability to choose between good and evil, and this is something that should be especially clear in our world, where the line between good and evil has become blurred. For us Argentines, the difference between them is very clear, and today, together with you, I raise my voice and say: Am Israel Chai.
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(I will say in Spanish: In conclusion, I ask God to bless Israel, to bless Argentina. Long live freedom. Thank you very much.)
- Source of text: Knesset
- Live video of Knesset special session hosting Argentina’s President Javier Milei. His speech starts at 1:20.