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Argentine President Javier Milei delivered a unique speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, where he quoted from the Torah and championed Judeo-Christian values.
The biblical parts of the speech featured the account of the beginning of the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt. Pharaoh’s intransigence provides an "extremely clear analogy" to what is happening in the Western world today, Milei warned.
Milei, who has spoken publicly about his attachment to Judaism and the Torah — the first five books of the Bible — delivered his anti-globalist, conservative message at a forum of political leaders, multinational corporations and international institutions. The annual gathering in Davos is widely seen as a forum with strong globalist tendencies.
"Finally, I want to share with you a reflection from this week's parshah, Bo," Milei said, using the Hebrew-language term for Torah portion followed by the name of this week's portion, which means "come."
Bo (Exodus 10:1–13:16) “describes the moment when Moses confronts Pharaoh, the symbol of the oppressive power of the state, to warn him that if he didn’t free the Hebrew people, the final three plagues would fall upon Egypt," said Milei.
"When Pharaoh refused, the plague of locusts came, which meant famine. Then came the plague of darkness, meaning the loss of clarity in decision-making. And finally, the plague of the death of the firstborn, which illustrates the fate of a society that denies liberty. The analogy with what is happening in the West today is crystal clear," he added.
Milei was elected in 2023 on a campaign that highlighted liberty and a defiant opposition to globalist, left-wing norms and dictates. The Argentine president is not Jewish but has spoken often about his spiritual connection to Judaism. He has said that Argentina's key allies are the United States and Israel.
Milei is perhaps best known for his catch phrase "Long live freedom, damn it," with which he also sealed his Davos speech.
Much of his speech was devoted to establishing the superiority of capitalism versus socialism and other forms of collectivism. He quoted extensively from the writings of anti-socialist, conservative commentators Thomas Sowell and Deirdre McCloskey, as well as classical philosophers Xenophon and Ulpian and later thinkers such as John Locke and Adam Smith.
The agendas and policies “being promoted by various international organizations and fora are nothing more than a whole set of socialist policies elegantly packaged to deceive people of noble spirit, who were full of good intentions. But this always led to the same catastrophic results," Milei said in his speech in Davos.
The "West is in danger," Milei said. But he ended on a positive note, saying that "the Americas will be the beacon of light that will once again illuminate the entire West, thereby repaying the civilizational debt with expressions of gratitude toward the foundations in Greek philosophy, Roman law and Judeo-Christian values."
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