(LifeSiteNews) — This is the third part of an investigation into Chabad-Lubavitch, the international Hasidic Jewish denomination based in New York.
This group’s seventh leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (known by many as “The Rebbe” or “The Lubavitcher Rebbe”), was responsible for transforming it into the powerhouse that it is today.
In the first part, we saw that Chabad has long promoted troubling ideas about an imminent messianic age, the Jerusalem Temple and a Noahide New World Order.
In the second, we saw that it also promotes an extreme doctrine of racial supremacy under the guise of spirituality, in which non-Jews exist to serve the Jews, and are inferior to them.
In the third part, we saw that Israel’s Netanyahu government, including ministers Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and former minister Benny Gantz, have links with Chabad, who represent a significant voting bloc in the country.
In this part, we are going to examine Chabad’s relationship with the recently-elected President Javier Milei of Argentina, and how it illustrates the group’s strategy for generating political influence internationally.
We will also see how Chabad’s relationship with Milei uncovers the group’s surprising links with George Soros and the World Economic Forum.
President Javier Milei
President Javier Milei was elected in November 2023, and because of his libertarian views, he is considered to be right-wing or anti-globalist. In fact, as we shall see, this is not an entirely accurate portrayal.
It has been widely reported that Milei is interested in Judaism and is even considering converting to the religion himself.[1] What has been less widely reported is how far Milei is involved with specifically Chabad-Lubavitch Judaism.
While his “personal rabbi” Alex Wahnish (whom he appointed Ambassador to Israel) does not seem to be closely related to Chabad, Milei’s other links are remarkable – so much so that after his election, the website Chabadinfo actually referred to Milei as “Argentina’s first Lubavitcher president.”[2]
These links go far beyond the fact that Milei has a picture of Schneerson on the wall in his home’s meeting room.[3]
The Chabad website itself stated in November 2023:
The newly-elected president has frequently expressed a deep love and admiration for Judaism and the Jewish people, and has spoken about his reverence for the Rebbe in interviews during the campaign.
In one interview with Argentinian TV last July, Milei noted that ‘I was recently in New York and I even had the privilege of visiting the office of the Lubavitcher Rebbe,’ and spoke about the Rebbe’s sichot (Torah discourses) and how he treasured a book of the Rebbe’s teachings.[4]
In a televised interview published during his presidential campaign, an excited Milei refers to Schneerson and this book, much to the bemusement of the interviewer:
There’s a book that contains the teachings of the rebbe. I had the chance, the honor, to meet one of those rabbis who wrote those teachings and I had the privilege that he gave me that book and signed it for me.[5]
Argentina’s new President, Javier Milei, loves the Rebbe. pic.twitter.com/1oTqtl1gJd
— Frum TikTok (@FrumTikTok) November 22, 2023
This was a reference to Milei’s meeting with Rabbi Simon Jacobson, who was one of Schneerson’s close collaborators.[6] This meeting took place on September 10, 2023.[7]
Milei’s relationship with the Chabad-affiliated Jacobson appears to be very close indeed. After his election, Milei met Jacobson on other occasions. One video, which Jacobson posted in November 2023 after the election, shows Milei embracing him, weeping.
Milei famously promised to visit Israel before taking office. It is not clear whether this trip occurred, but he did indeed make a presidential visit in February 2024, after taking office. During this trip, Milei met Jacobson again, and in another emotional embrace, appeared to thank him several times.
It is not clear whether Milei is thanking Jacobson for some perceived role in his election (e.g., prayer, support, or otherwise) or something else (e.g., for the various ideas and beliefs around which he appears to be ordering his life).
However, it is certain that Milei’s own press team has “thank[ed] Hashem” – the distinctive title which some religious Jews use to refer to God – “for the position He has put [Milei] in.”[8]
The press team said that it was to thank “Hashem” that Milei went to visit “the Ohel,” or Schneerson’s grave in New York, only days after his election, and still before being sworn in as president.
This was one of at least three visits to Schneerson’s grave in the second half of 2023, which is a pilgrimage site for many today.[9]
In December 2023, Milei was invited to light a Chanukah candle at the Chabad House in Buenos Aires. At this event, he was holding “a book with a picture of the Rebbe,” and was standing alongside Rabi Tzvi Grunblatt.[10] Grunblatt is a Chabad shliach (emissary, missionary), the director of Chabad in Argentina, and a believer in Schneerson as the messiah.[11]
At this same event, Milei is reported as making a strange comment:
[T]he new president said it wasn’t happenstance that he became president during Chanuka because this was by divine providence.
Just as then, the impure submitted to the pure, so too today, the impure submit to the pure. These words created enormous, positive vibes.
It is unclear what he meant here, although given his public attitude towards the Jewish people, and Chabad’s extreme doctrine of racial supremacy, it cannot help but recall the following comment made by Schneerson:
All the creations, even the gentile nations, will continue to exist in the Messianic Age — Would one expect G-d to suddenly kill off three billion people? That would be the very opposite of the Torah approach for, ‘the ways of the Torah are peace.’
Rather, the gentiles will continue to exist — however, the G-dly force which maintains their existence will be openly revealed and therefore, as the prophets declared: ‘Kings will be your foster fathers.’
The gentiles will realize that the purpose of their existence is to serve the Jews.
This is the inner meaning of the verse: ‘And the sea covered up their foes.’ The existence of even the enemies of the Jewish people will be transformed through the revelation of G-dliness in the Messianic Age, and they will serve and assist the Jews.[12]
Milei’s trip to Israel
In February 2024, Milei made his first presidential trip, which was to Israel, where he prayed and wept at the Western Wall.
Javier Milei weeping at the Western Wall during his visit to Israel this week. pic.twitter.com/KjChnqPkAQ
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 8, 2024
When he visited the Holocaust Memorial (Yad Vaschem), Milei read aloud the words of the first/second century Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph, one of the most important contributors to the Talmud, who predicted that the third Temple would be rebuilt on the same place where once the second temple stood – that is, roughly where today the Al-Aqsa mosque stands. He quoted Akiva as saying:
There is another prophecy that says that the same place [The Temple] will be rebuilt […]
‘I laugh in joy and full of hope as the second prophecy will surely come true.’
The fact that Milei, as a supporter and admirer of Rabbi Schneerson would make a reference to the rebuilding of the Third Temple in Jerusalem is not a coincidence. As discussed previously, the future and imminent rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple are central to Schneerson and Chabad’s doctrine of the coming of the Moshiach.
In 1984, Schneerson quoted another famous Jewish authority:
If the Temple was not rebuilt in your lifetime, it’s as if it were destroyed in your lifetime.[13]
We have already discussed why the rebuilding of the Temple is such a controversial matter on the world stage, as well as why it would be of concern specifically for Catholics.
Milei has also spoken of his intention to move the Argentinian Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, which Donald Trump also did for the U.S. Embassy in 2017. Such moves are deeply problematic for diplomatic relations and any possibility of a peaceful two-state solution for Palestine and Israel.
How did all these links arise? Rabbi Yossi Ludman, another shliach in Argentina, suggested that Milei’s interest in Judaism is in part a result of his own study.
But he added that it is also because of “the influence of the Chabad rabbis whom he’s close with” and said:
The shluchim (emissaries) here made it a point to create a relationship with him and bring him to Chabad Chassidus [piety/spirituality].[14] [Emphasis added]
Milei himself seems to allude to a program of “relationship creation” when he says of the shluchim and Jacobson’s book: “Usually they give you that book as a gift.”
This “point” in creating relationships with leaders and potential leaders is a theme, which we will see in a subsequent part in relation to American politics.
However, while the Chabadinfo interview with the shluchim mentioned is enlightening, there is another important figure in this picture which they did not mention – that of Eduardo Elsztain, whom Israeli newspaper Haaretz has called “[George] Soros’ Golden Boy.”
Eduardo Elsztain – Soros’ protégé
Elsztain was a long-term protégé of George Soros in Argentina, and is one of Argentina’s most important businessmen and property developers.[15] IRSA (Inversiones y Representaciones Sociedad Anónima) is the flagship entity of his real estate empire.
In 2018, the Chabad-Lubavitch HQ website described Elsztain as “President of Chabad of Argentina,” although it is unclear whether this is simply an honorary role, and if Elsztain still fills it today.[16] The same website called him “a long time friend of Chabad-Lubavitch.”[17]
In an interview, Mr. Elsztain made clear his admiration for Schneerson. We quote from the Financial Times:
Despite his prowess in buying and selling, Mr Elsztain is no swaggering trader.
Dressed in a black suit and white shirt, with a long white beard and a kippah [skullcap] his style is sober and religious, an impression reinforced by the reverence with which he speaks of his hero, the late Jewish religious leader Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who persuaded him to switch from stock investing to real estate when they met in New York.
When asked: ‘Who is your leadership hero?’ Elsztain responds: ‘Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Seventh Rebbe of Lubavitch. He was a most positive leader, and his influence marked generations of people who had the chance to meet him.’[18]
In an article for Haaretz, Hagai Amit claims that Elsztain became religious observant because of his encounter with Schneerson.[19] In 2008, Elsztain visited a Peruvian Chabad-Lubavitch house and was involved with a historically significant circumcision there.[20]
Elsztain was present with Milei at the same 2023 Hanukah event already mentioned, and is pictured in photographs, speaking intimately with him there.
Elsztain was also a part of Milei’s group visiting the tomb in New York in November 2023.[21]
In April 2024, Milei embraced several members of his audience, with Elsztain receiving a very considerably warmer embrace than others:
Milei gobierna para esta gente:
Galperin
Elsztain (Irsa)
Bastitta Harriet (Plaza Log.) Ratazzi (ex Fiat)
Guibert Englebiene (Globant)
Concentración de poder, abrazos asqueantes:
👉ADENTRO
Pymes, jubilados, empleados, estudiantes, profesionales, docentes, comerciantes:
👉 AFUERA pic.twitter.com/ikDXCTmmx8— Natacha (@NachaLuna1) April 20, 2024
According to the Argentine news agency Agencia NOVA, Elzstain himself is already profiting financially from the Milei government:
The presidential decree [repealing certain land laws] by Javier Milei paves the way for Eduardo Elsztain, owner of the IRSA group and one of the main contributors to the La Libertad Avanza (LLA) campaign, to enter a multimillion-dollar real estate business through the sale of rural lands belonging to the Armed Forces. […]
Elsztain is one of the winners of the Milei era after the businessman hosted the libertarian candidate in the Hotel Libertador on his property and opened a network of international business contacts for him by bringing him closer to an Orthodox current of the Jewish community.[22]
La Politica Online also wrote (albeit apparently wrongly claiming that Elsztain did not accompany Milei to the grave):
However, the person who spiritually guided Milei and opened the doors to Chabad Lubavitch for him did not join the trip. This person is Eduardo Elsztain, one of the most powerful businessmen in the country and the largest landowner in Argentina.
‘Eduardo is the key to Chabad in Argentina,’ explained a source familiar with the Argentine branch of the Hasidic Jewish organization to LPO. Lubavitch is a minor branch within Judaism.
The relationship between Milei and Elsztain is so good that for several months now, the president-elect has been staying at the Hotel Libertador, which is owned by the businessman, although the terms of this arrangement have not been disclosed.[23]
Elsztain is not only linked with Soros: he is also a regular attendee of Klaus Schwab’s annual World Economic Forum conference at Davos.
In fact, there are other significant Chabad links to be found at the WEF too.
The World Economic Forum
Klaus Schwab’s links with Chabad-Lubavitch go back decades.
Coincidentally, he happened to be having breakfast with the Chabad rabbi Arthur Schneier when the planes hit the twin towers in 2001.[24]
Schneier worked closely with Schwab on hosting the World Economic Forum in New York City in response to the events of 9/11. He is pictured with figures involved with the group at a memorial service at Ground Zero.[25]
The WEF-Chabad links continue today. Each year, at the end of the annual WEF at Davos, there is a Shabbat dinner. This dinner is itself sponsored by the WEF and hosted by Schwab himself. Schwab has reportedly said that the dinner is his favorite part of the gathering.[26]
Chabad-affiliated Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz is involved with planning this annual WEF dinner.[27] Berkowitz presents it as the climax and summation of the conference itself. This is how the Jewish Insider reported his comments:
‘When it comes to Shabbos, it’s at the end of a week of intense meetings and networking and business,’ Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz, who has traveled to Davos annually for two decades and is involved in the planning for the annual dinner, told JI.
‘So then people come to the last important meal: It’s spiritual, it’s purposeful, it’s Yiddishkeit.’[28]
We have already discussed the importance of the idea of “Yiddishkeit” in Chabad messianic doctrine elsewhere. Berkowitz’ comments also suggest that he is claiming that this Shabbat meal is what provides the spirituality and purpose of the World Economic Forum at Davos.
Who attends the annual Davos Shabbat dinners, apparently so significant to the conference? The JI states that “the guest list for the invite-only Shabbat dinner remains under wraps” but that Berkowitz confirmed a list of guests, including Eduardo Elsztain, as well as Jared Kushner, Alex Soros, and several Israeli and big-tech figures.[29] In Berkowitz’s words:
From heads of state to leaders of industry, emerging technology companies, Nobel laureates, academics, it’s an amazing amalgam of the amazing diversity of the Jewish people and friends of the Jewish people.[30]
Let us note this carefully – the “last important meal” and (reportedly Schwab’s favorite part) of the World Economic Forum at Davos, sponsored by the WEF, and which is presented as providing the “spiritual” and “purposeful” climax to the annual event, is an invite-only Shabbat Dinner, for “the Jewish people and friends of the Jewish people.”
But who is Berkowitz himself?
On his X profile, Berkowitz describes himself as a “Follower of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson of righteous memory.”[31]
He refers to his children on his social media, one of whom is named “Menachem,” which may be further evidence of his devotion to Schneerson.[32]
But Berkowitz is not merely a devotee of Schneerson, nor merely a rabbi serving as a chaplain to the WEF. Rather, he is a Chabad rabbi with extensive links throughout the organization.[33]
In 2023, The Jewish Herald-Voice described him in the following terms:
If Chabad had a State Department, then Rabbi Berkowitz would be undersecretary for Special Missions. From the Alaska tundra to the slums of Mumbai, from the halls of the Kremlin to the frontline of Ukraine, Rabbi Berkowitz has even led the annual Shabbat dinner at the World Economic Forum in Davos, for the last 20 years.
Rabbi Berkowitz is a senior coordinator of Special Missions, on behalf of Chabad Headquarters, from Ukraine relief to serving as the alternative delegate for the Chabad NGO at the United Nations. Formerly, Rabbi Berkowitz served as executive director of the Federation of Jewish communities in Russia.[34]
Berkowitz lives in Brooklyn, NY, which is where Chabad-Lubavitch’s world headquarters are based.[35] According to his social media presence, he was a Director at Chabad Headquarters and the Global Chabad Development Fund (MIDF) from 2010 to 2016, and is currently an “alternate delegate” of the Chabad NGO at the UN in New York.[36]
The Chabad website indicates that he still works at Lubavitch Headquarters.[37]
In short, the rabbi involved in organizing the Shabbat Dinner at the Davos Conference is himself a significant figure within Chabad-Lubavitch in his own right.
Incidentally, Berkowitz is not the only Chabad Rabbi with links to the World Economic Forum. Rabbi Berel Lazar is the Chief Rabbi of Russia, and is himself associated with Chabad.
In 2008, he gave a talk to the Oxford Chabad university society, at which he was introduced by “Guest of Honour,” the Honorable Nathaniel Rothschild. Rothschild mentioned that they had first met at the WEF in Davos:
My only qualification for speaking tonight is that I am very good friends with Rabbi Lazar. […]
[…] I met Rabbi Lazar in Switzerland at the World Economic Forum in Davos and I was struck by watching this figure and we eventually connected and started talking, and from there began a friendship and I started visiting his centre in Russia, many times a year.[38]
As we shall see in a later part, Lazar is also very close to Russian President Vladimir Putin – such that the Times of Israel has called him “Putin’s Rabbi.”[39]
Conclusion
Let us recap what we have seen here, in reverse order.
Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz, a former director of Chabad-Lubavitch in Brooklyn, is intimately involved in Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum. What Schwab reportedly considers to be the highlight of the WEF in Davos is a “spiritual […] purposeful” Shabbat dinner, for “the Jewish people and friends of the Jewish people,” organized by a significant Chabad rabbi who presents it as the spiritual summation of the annual conference.
Among the guests at this invite-only Shabbat dinner is the property magnate Eduardo Elsztain, the former protégé of George Soros, who is himself intimately linked to Chabad-Lubavitch.
Elsztain is also reportedly the key figure who opened up the Chabad religion and powerful supporters to President Javier Milei of Argentina, from whose presidency Elsztain is himself already reportedly profiting.
Milei was also targeted by Chabad rabbis in Argentina, who “made it a point to create a relationship with him and bring [him] to Chabad Chassidus” – as they themselves have admitted.[40]
And finally, because of this, President Javier Milei is now himself promoting Chabad-Lubavitch on a national and global stage, as well as visiting Israel and talking publicly about the extremely sensitive and dangerous prospect of the third Jerusalem Temple being built on the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as matters such as moving the Argentinian Embassy to Jerusalem.
This picture raises significant questions.
On the global level, what exactly is the relationship between Chabad-Lubavitch, the World Economic Forum and even George Soros? Who is influencing whom, and in what ways? How does this relationship pertain to world leaders like Milei?
While such questions may be nearly impossible to answer with certainty, there is a second set of questions, which are much easier to answer.
What are we to make, on the various national levels, of Chabad-Lubavitch and its shluchim rabbis “making a point” of creating relationships with political leaders like Milei and others? To what extent have they done this in the United States of America, and elsewhere?
And to what purpose, exactly?
Regarding this final question, we have already seen the stated purpose behind Chabad activity: hastening the coming of the Moshiach.
However, in the next part, we will show the answers to some of these other questions – by considering the extraordinarily extensive success that Chabad-Lubavitch has had in “creating relationships” with those in American political life.