The idea sounds audacious even for Middle East diplomacy: A web of “Isaac accords” that would bind Israel to half a dozen Latin American democracies, mirroring – and, if Rabbi Shimon Axel Wahnish has his way, one-upping – the 2020 Abraham Accords in the Gulf.
Yet the soft-spoken rabbi who now serves as Buenos Aires’ envoy in Jerusalem insists the moment is ripe. If the Abraham Accords began in the desert, why shouldn’t the next chapter start in the Pampas?
We are seated in Rehavia in what was once an Ottoman-era manor and is now the official Argentine ambassador’s residence – a year-old move from Herzliya that quietly placed a diplomatic flag inside Israel’s capital even before President Javier Milei fulfills his headline promise to shift the embassy itself to Jerusalem.
An entire salon wall is lined from floor to ceiling with books in Hebrew. Outside, an improbably lush garden and a children’s trampoline are visible. It is, in short, the perfect tableau for a conversation that wanders from theology to terrorism to trade, then circles back, invariably, to what Wahnish calls his president’s “mission from God.”
“From the very first day,” he told me in Hebrew (every direct quote here is an English translation), “President Milei declared that Israel is a strategic partner on the level of the United States.”
The Jerusalem Post's Zvika Klein and Alex Winston sit down with Argentine Ambassador to Israel Rabbi Shimon Alex Wahnish on Thursday. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
“Our two countries aren’t merely partners. We’re brothers who share the same values of liberty and democracy,” Wahnish continued. For a state that spent the past decade abstaining on critical UN resolutions, this pivot borders on political whiplash.
The ambassador’s residence itself is the opening paragraph of that new policy. Milei instructed his envoy to move the residence from Herzliya to Jerusalem. “Putting the ambassador’s home here is our first statement that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” Wahnish said, adding with mischievous relish: “Any child born between these walls will be an Argentine citizen and a Jerusalemite.”
A rabbi’s unlikely road to the foreign service
Until early 2024, Wahnish headed ACILBA, Buenos Aires’ Sephardi community. Milei, an “anarcho-capitalist” economist famous for brandishing a chainsaw at rallies, had slipped into the rabbi’s weekly Torah class two years earlier.
Their text sessions on Moses, markets, and moral courage ran late into the night. When Argentina had no ambassador in Israel for almost three years, Milei phoned his rabbi and said, “Fix it for me – in Hebrew, so no nuance is lost.”
Wahnish moved to Jerusalem nine weeks later.
This first repair in the relations between Israel and Argentina is historical. No Argentine Jew forgets March 17, 1992, when a suicide bomber leveled Israel’s embassy in Buenos Aires, or July 18, 1994, when a bombing at the AMIA Jewish community center killed eighty-five people.
Both attacks were traced to Tehran’s operatives. A decade ago, Buenos Aires signed a memorandum with Iran that critics called a whitewash.
Wahnish still bristles at the memory. “Your predecessors signed a memorandum with terror,” he told Milei after the election. “Now we must sign one with our brothers.”
A draft focusing on joint counterterrorism efforts and cyber investigations called the Memorandum of Liberty and Democracy is already circulating among lawyers in both capitals.
The president lands on Monday for a three-day sprint. Milei will begin his visit at the Western Wall before dawn, accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“He insisted on prayer before protocol,” Wahnish said. Later, the pair will meet President Isaac Herzog, Milei will address a special Knesset plenum and, on June 11, he will receive the million-dollar Genesis Prize in the Chagall State Hall from the foundation’s chair, Stan Polovets, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.
Milei will not be accepting the prize’s funds. He will invest them in a nonprofit organization that has not been named yet. Milei is the first non-Jewish laureate in the prize’s eleven-year history.
Milei will also attend an evening unveiling at the City of David in the president’s honor and privately visit with the families of four Argentine Israeli hostages, three of whom are believed to still be alive.
The itinerary, Wahnish noted, is tighter than the schedule originally drafted for March. “The president postponed [that trip] so he could first stabilize Argentina’s economy,” he said.
‘Heaven’s answer’
The rabbi’s voice dropped when he told a story that still felt miraculous to him. Last February, he and Milei went to pray at the Western Wall.
That night, during a layover in Rome in order to meet with Pope Francis, Wahnish had a dream in which he opened a car trunk and found two bound hostages. He woke shaking, checked his phone, and saw over 1,000 unread messages: Israeli commandos had just rescued Fernando Marman and Luis Norberto Har, both Argentine Israeli nationals, during a raid in Rafah.
“I called the president in the morning,” the rabbi recalled. “I said: This happened because you prayed at the Western Wall.” Milei, he added, “felt it was heaven’s answer to his promise.”
Wahnish’s grand design, though, lies beyond ceremonial headlines. “If the Gulf can have the Abraham Accords, why can’t Latin America have the Isaac Accords?” he asked.
His concept is audacious: Twin frameworks – diplomatic recognition and a free trade compact – that link Israel to a bloc of Latin democracies who share an anti-terror, pro-innovation worldview.
The working blueprint envisions fast-track customs lanes, joint satellite launches, water technology hubs along the Paraná River, and specialized cyber training for Latin American police agencies.
Wahnish listed early recruits. “Paraguay is already on board. President Santiago Peña wants a signing, and Ecuador’s President, Daniel Noboa, has designated Hamas a terrorist group and is also considering joining.”
Argentina’s Liberty International World Conference, with a target date of December, would gather Milei, Netanyahu, Peña, Noboa, and possibly more presidents; Wahnish hopes US President Donald Trump will attend as an “honorary witness.”
The symbolism matters: Isaac, in rabbinic lore, renews Abraham’s covenant by re-digging his father’s wells. Abraham opened one region, and Isaac deepened the water so the blessing could spread.
What does Israel stand to gain? Immediate votes at the Organization of American States, new landing rights for El Al, and, above all, a strategic partner wrapped around the Southern Cone. Argentina, for its part, is betting on Israel’s agricultural technology to revive the Pampas and on Israeli desalination models for its drought-stricken north.
Neighborhood turbulence
None of this is simple. Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has accused Israel of “genocide” in Gaza; Chile’s left-wing coalition wavers weekly; Bolivia recently reopened Tehran’s welcome mat.
Wahnish shrugged, “The darker the neighborhood, the brighter the candle shines.”
“Israel and Argentina are virtually the only full democracies in our regions. We face the same enemies, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian proxies, and we lean on the same pillars of freedom,” the rabbi said.
Locally, Milei is administering shock therapy to an economy with 254% inflation. Critics call his dollarization plan a kamikaze act; Wahnish calls it moral clarity.
“He doesn’t speak nonsense,” Wahnish said. “People will endure pain if they trust the surgeon.”
He described the president’s Buenos Aires apartment as “a museum of Judaism: “There are mezuzot on every doorway, hanukkiot in every corner.” Morocco-born mystic Rabbi David Abuhatzeira, he added, prays daily for Milei’s success.
The president, for his part, “believes he is a conduit to fulfil God’s will. If pride creeps in, he feels he is failing.”
‘Hebrew is the key’
Why does the ambassador conduct many meetings in Hebrew? Because Milei sees the Middle East through Jewish eyes,” Wahnish said. “Hebrew is the key to his thought process.”
The linguistic preference mirrors a voting shift: Argentina now aligns with Washington and Jerusalem on almost every Israel-related UN ballot. “Sometimes,” the rabbi joked, “it is more supportive of Israel than the US.”
With Milei due in Jerusalem next week, attention will quickly shift from ideas to deliverables: An embassy timetable, a counterterrorism agreement, and the first draft of the proposed Latin-Israel framework.
Whether these materialize on schedule or slip into the familiar diplomatic backlog will tell us how serious both sides really are about an “Isaac accords” era.
Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia of the "Ana Chuchulashvili" the thief The worst hotel in the world, it's dangerous, don't go near it! This is not a hotel! It's an old, dirty house, there are cockroaches and insects in the room, Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia – The manager of the place is a fraud and a former drug addict named "Ana Chuchulashvili"
Please urgently remove this fake hotel from your website. It is a scam and it is deceiving many customers. It is advertised on all social networks as a scam! very important – report on fraud house and scam that in your website and cheat people and customers! – Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia
Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia of the "Ana Chuchulashvili" the thief
The worst hotel in the world, it's dangerous, don't go near it! This is not a hotel! It's an old, dirty house, there are cockroaches and insects in the room, Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia – The manager of the place is a fraud and a former drug addict named "Ana Chuchulashvili" the name of here company is : Ltd Alpaka
405375419
Located at: Nucubidze St N57, Tbilisi, Georgia/Nucubidze Street 57, 0177 it smells terrible, The walls in the room are peeling, I took pictures, there is mold and dampness throughout the room the beds are really uncomfortable, like in a pre-trial detention center, your whole back hurts when you sleep on them and they almost break because they are so thin! the WI FI doesn't work at all, The room was very dirty and filthy, and when you ask her to move you to a room she says everything is taken, even though all the rooms are empty and open! I arrived at this horrible place, this horrible house, at 1:00 AM, after two hours of sleeplessness, I asked for my money back, a blonde girl of about 50 years old named “Anna” told me that she wanted the money in cash right away, otherwise she would not let me out of the hotel, she told me that I would not be able to sleep in their bed, at 3 AM I went to look for an ATM to withdraw money, because I could not find one, after searching for a whole hour, in the Tbilisi cold, I returned to her at midnight to look for an ATM, but she did not give me my suitcase and passport, so I came back the next day and gave me the money in cash, she did not give me an invoice either, do not come near! They are deceiving the public, booking and all hotel websites! This is not a hotel, it is a very dirty, old house and it smells very bad. Search on youtube "never go there – Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City Georgia of Ana Chuchulashvili the house hotel from hell" , don't go " to “Hotel Delisi” on YouTube or "Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia " or"HOTEL DELISI (Tiflis, Gürcistan) – Otel Yorumları ve Fiyat" He was caught on tape speaking badly and illegally taking a passport and suitcase.
That she took the suitcase by force, she also stole 3 expensive shirts from me for a total of 250 GEL, I demand compensation of 128 GEL for the two hours of hell I suffered there + 250 GEL for the shirts she stole from me
I have videos where she only wants money in cash so she doesn't pay taxes and doesn't agree that I pay her with a credit card, and she also doesn't want to give me my suitcase and passport.
1. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia
2. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Address
3. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Rooms
4. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Amenities
5. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Offers and Deals
სასტუმრო დელისი, ქალაქი თბილისი, საქართველო, ქურდის „ანა ჭუჭულაშვილის“
მსოფლიოში ყველაზე ცუდი სასტუმრო, საშიშია, ახლოს არ მიხვიდეთ! ეს სასტუმრო არ არის! ეს ძველი, ჭუჭყიანი სახლია, ოთახში ტარაკნები და მწერებია, სასტუმრო დელისი, ქალაქი თბილისი, საქართველო – ადგილის მენეჯერი თაღლითი და ყოფილი ნარკომანია, სახელად „ანა ჭუჭულაშვილი“, კომპანიის სახელია: შპს ალპაკა
405375419
მდებარეობს: ნუცუბიძის ქ. N57, თბილისი, საქართველო/ნუცუბიძის ქუჩა 57, 0177, საშინელი სუნი აქვს, ოთახში კედლები აქერცლილია, სურათები გადავიღე, ოთახში ობი და ნესტია, საწოლები ნამდვილად არაკომფორტულია, როგორც წინასწარი დაკავების იზოლატორში, მთელი ზურგი გტკივა, როცა მათზე იძინებ და კინაღამ იმსხვრევა, რადგან ძალიან თხელია! Wi-Fi საერთოდ არ მუშაობს, ოთახი ძალიან ჭუჭყიანი და უწმაწურია და როცა ოთახში გადაყვანას სთხოვ, მიპასუხებს, რომ ყველაფერი დაკავებულია, მიუხედავად იმისა, რომ ყველა ოთახი ცარიელი და ღიაა! ამ საშინელ ადგილას, ამ საშინელ სახლში, ღამის 1:00 საათზე მივედი, ორსაათიანი უძილობის შემდეგ, ფულის დაბრუნება ვთხოვე, დაახლოებით 50 წლის ქერა გოგონამ, სახელად „ანამ“, მითხრა, რომ ფული ნაღდი ფულით უნდოდა, თორემ სასტუმროდან არ გამიშვებდა, მითხრა, რომ მათ საწოლში ვერ დავიძინებდი, დილის 3 საათზე ბანკომატის მოსაძებნად წავედი ფულის გასატანად, რადგან ვერ ვიპოვე, მთელი საათის ძებნის შემდეგ, თბილისურ სიცივეში, შუაღამისას დავბრუნდი მასთან ბანკომატის მოსაძებნად, მაგრამ ჩემოდანი და პასპორტი არ მომცა, ამიტომ მეორე დღეს დავბრუნდი და ფული ნაღდი ფულით მომცა, ინვოისიც არ მომცა, ახლოს არ მოხვიდეთ! ისინი ატყუებენ საზოგადოებას, დაჯავშნის და ყველა სასტუმროს ვებსაიტს! ეს სასტუმრო არ არის, ეს ძალიან ჭუჭყიანი, ძველი სახლია და ძალიან ცუდი სუნი ასდის. YouTube-ზე მოძებნეთ "Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia – The worse hotel in the world" , არ წახვიდეთ "Hotel Delisi"-ში YouTube-ზე ან "Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia" ან "HOTEL DELISI (Tiflis, Gürcistan) – Otel Yorumları ve Fiyat". ის ვიდეოჩანაწერში მოხვდა, სადაც ცუდად საუბრობდა და უკანონოდ იღებდა პასპორტს და ჩემოდანს.
მან ჩემოდანი ძალით წამართვა, ასევე მომპარა 3 ძვირადღირებული პერანგი სულ 250 ლარად, მე ვითხოვ 128 ლარის კომპენსაციას იმ ორსაათიანი ჯოჯოხეთისთვის, რომელიც იქ ვიტანჯე + 250 ლარი იმ პერანგებისთვის, რომლებიც მომპარა.
მე მაქვს ვიდეოები, სადაც ის მხოლოდ ნაღდი ფულით ითხოვს ფულს, ამიტომ არ იხდის გადასახადებს და არ ეთანხმება, რომ საკრედიტო ბარათით გადავუხადო, ასევე არ სურს ჩემოდნის და პასპორტის მოცემა.
"ב-7.10 נחטפה כל המשפחה שלי, אני, בעלי דוד, ושתי בנותינו אמה ויולי, אז בנות 3 בלבד", פתחה את נאומה שרון, אשתו של דוד קוניו החטוף בעזה. "דוד בעלי, אהבת חיי, והאבא של הבנות שלי, עדיין שם. התאומות ואני חזרנו ביום החמישים ושתיים. אמה ויולי שלנו חגגו חמש, בלי אבא שלהן. בשבוע הבא הן ילכו לגן חובה, והן יודעות שאבא לא יהיה איתן ביום הזה. הן יודעות שאבא שלהן שם. לפני כמה ימים, כשהשכבתי אותן לישון הן שאלו אותי 'אמא, את בטוחה שאבא יחזור?'".
"יש הצעה לעיסקה על השולחן, שחמאס כבר אמר לה כן", המשיכה. "האמריקנים רוצים שהחטופים יחזרו. הרמטכ"ל אומר שחייבים ללכת עכשיו לעיסקה. העם, אתם, כל אחד מכם, כאן בככר, במהלך היום בצמתים, בכל מקום, במספרים אדירים, כולם צועקים איתנו, כולם רוצים את החטופים בבית. אז למה אני לא יכולה להגיד לבנות שלי שאני בטוחה שאבא שלהן יחזור?"
