Milei Returns to the Ohel on High-Profile UN Trip

Argentine President Javier Milei visited the Rebbe’s Ohel in Queens during his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, continuing what has become a regular stop during his visits to the city.

Milei arrived at the Ohel following his address at the UN and a private meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Upon arriving at the Ohel, Milei was welcomed by Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, executive director of Merkos 302 and director of the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Shluchim.

Milei and Rabbi Kotlarsky discussed Jewish life in Argentina, Chabad’s extensive network of shluchim and institutions throughout the country, and ways to help Argentina’s Jewish community continue to grow and flourish.

The president spent approximately an hour at the Ohel, where he studied from the Rebbe’s Torah before entering the Ohel to daven.

Milei has developed a longstanding connection with Chabad and the Rebbe’s teachings. Earlier this year, he said that the Rebbe’s teachings had made “a real impact on my way of thinking.”

His connection to the Ohel predates his presidency. While campaigning for office, Milei visited the Ohel and frequently spoke publicly about his admiration for the Rebbe and his Torah.

Following his election in 2023, Milei announced that his first overseas trip would be to the Rebbe’s Ohel, telling an interviewer that rather than first visiting a neighboring country, he intended to travel “to the USA, to the Ohel and from there to Israel.”

Days later, he followed through, making his first international trip as president-elect to the Ohel, where he was accompanied by Rabbi Kotlarsky.

Since taking office, Milei has returned to the Ohel repeatedly during visits to New York. During a visit earlier this year, he once again davened at the Ohel together with Rabbi Kotlarsky and other guests.

Milei has also spoken openly about what draws him back. In an interview earlier this year, he described his visits to both the Kosel and the Ohel as experiences marked first and foremost by gratitude.

“Whether I go to the Kosel or when I go to the Ohel, the first thing I feel is gratitude,” Milei said. He explained that in his prayers he asks for wisdom to distinguish between good and evil, courage to choose good, and strength to remain on that path.

What began as a visit during his presidential campaign, and then became the destination of his first foreign trip after his election, has since become a regular part of the Argentine president’s visits to New York.