Argentina’s President Javier Milei to receive $1M Genesis Prize in Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) - Argentina's President Javier Milei is headed to Israel.

Milei was awarded the $1 million Genesis Prize in January in recognition of his support of Israel.

After he postponed a planned visit in March, he is now set to receive the prize in a ceremony at Israel's Knesset on June 11 and deliver a speech to the Israeli parliament.

Organizers say Milei will donate the prize money to launch an initiative aimed at improving diplomatic relations between Israel and Latin American countries and fighting antisemitism in the region.

Prize organizers say they recognized Milei for reversing Argentina's long history of anti-Israel votes at the United Nations, designating the Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups as terrorist organizations and reopening investigations into the bombings of Jewish and Israeli targets in Argentina in the 1990s.

Milei also has pledged to move Argentina's embassy to Jerusalem - joining a handful of countries, including the U.S., to recognize the contested city as Israel's capital. The move is not expected to take place during his visit.

Previous winners have included business owner and 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 political prisoner Natan Sharansky.