Israel Gantz, Governor of Binyamin and chairman of the Yesha Council, met with Argentine President Javier Milei at his official residence as part of the first political mission of its kind to South America. The meeting—the third between the two and the first at the presidential residence—was led by Rabbi Richard Kaufman, Milei’s personal friend, and focused on the Malvinas Islands, Argentina’s name for the British-controlled Falklands, as well as Judea and Samaria.
“The days of the White Paper are over. Britain needs to end its occupation of the Argentine Malvinas Islands and cancel the shameful sanctions on Judea and Samaria,” Gantz said, attacking British hypocrisy by adding that “a country holding islands half a world away from its borders seeks to punish Jews building homes in the land of their forefathers.”
1+The sanctions Gantz referenced were announced last September by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and include a ban on importing goods from communities, sanctions on local Jews, and a new sanctions regime targeting communities in Judea and Samaria. In response, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced a series of measures against London and described the sanctions as a hostile act.
1+Milei is considered one of Israel’s most prominent supporters worldwide, and during his last state visit to Israel, the two countries formally signed the “Isaac Accords.” However, the islands issue has strained relations after Argentina’s government announced it intends to file criminal charges against Israeli energy company Navitas Petroleum, which is drilling for oil near the islands. In September, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for publicly recognizing the Malvinas Islands as occupied Argentine territory, though Israel’s official position remains a call for direct negotiations between Argentina and Britain over sovereignty.
Gantz’s associates described the meeting as warm and productive, saying the two agreed to significantly strengthen ties. Milei later posted joint photos on his official Instagram account, and after the meeting Gantz declared outside the presidential residence that he had just left a “historic meeting” with “a true friend of the State of Israel.”