As Milei celebrates ties with Jews in NY, Argentine streamer draws antisemitism complaint for mocking his Israel support

Argentina’s President Javier Milei speaks with Yeshiva University President Rabbi Ari Berman as part of the university’s “Great Conversations” series during an “Argentina Week” discussion focusing on global economic leadership and voicing support for the State of Israel on March 9, 2026 in New York City. (Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images)

(JTA) — As Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, hit several Jewish hotspots in New York City this week, a criminal complaint was filed in his home country against a popular streamer who questioned the leader’s public support for Israel.

During a monologue earlier this week, popular Argentinian streamer Tomás Rebord criticized Milei, who has stood out as one of Israel’s staunchest international supporters in recent years, for his repeated trips to Israel and emotional response to visiting the Western Wall.

“I like religion, I like theology, but how many times can you get excited by a stone wall,” said Rebord, who has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. “Why does he have to travel to Israel six times a year? Why? I understand the American agenda, but even the Yankees aren’t doing that, man.”

Milei has not visited Israel six times in a year, but he has made two visits since entering office in 2023 as an avowed philosemite who says he hopes one day to become Jewish and peppers his public comments with references to Jewish texts.

This week, Milei visited New York for “Argentina Week,” a three-day roadshow aimed at attracting investment to Argentina. During his travels, he visited the gravesite of the Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe — for at least the second time — and danced to Hebrew songs as he was honored by the conservative Jewish publication the Algemeiner.

Milei also spoke at Yeshiva University, where he called himself “the most Zionist president in the world.” He spoke in conversation with the school’s president, Rabbi Ari Berman, and also delivered a lecture on his area of expertise, economics.

During the livestream on his program “Hay Algo Ahí,” Rebord also appeared to suggest that Jews bore responsibility for wildfires in Patagonia earlier this year. Conspiracy theories that Israelis started the fires spread widely in Argentina in January, sparking condemnation from Milei and Jewish leaders.

“Patagonia is catching fire, and what the whole government came out to tell the media is, the Jews have nothing to do with this,” said Rebord. “What is that clarification? Nobody asks why?”

On Tuesday, Argentinian lawyer Jorge Monastersky, who has previously litigated antisemitic rhetoric in the country, announced he had filed a criminal complaint against Rebord alleging religious discrimination, writing in a post on X that his remarks “clearly exceeds the scope of freedom of expression.”

“Attributing serious events like fires to people because of their religion, implying collective responsibility, and ridiculing religious symbols is not satire or irony. It is stigmatization,” wrote Monastersky. “That kind of discourse fuels prejudices, trivializes antisemitism, and can generate hostility or violence against Argentine citizens whose only difference is their religion.”

Milei praised the lawsuit in a post on X, writing “MASTERCLASS” and tagging the Delegation of Argentine Jewish Associations, Argentina’s main Jewish umbrella organization also known as DAIA.

On Tuesday, Rebord decried the lawsuit in a subsequent livestream, calling Milei an “imbecile” for sharing it.

The lawsuit comes as Argentina has taken an increasingly aggressive approach to combating antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiments in the country under the leadership of Milei. Last August, an Argentine lawmaker was indicted on criminal charges after comparing Israel to the Nazi regime and calling it a “genocide state” on social media.

Monastersky thanked Milei for sharing the lawsuit on social media, praising his “commitment to maintaining that antisemitism has no place in our country.”