At Israel’s 78th Yom Ha’atzmaut torch-lighting ceremony, President Javier Milei of Argentina delivered a deeply moving address as he lit the twelfth torch. As a Jewish Argentinian, hearing those words from an Argentinian leader felt unprecedented—filling me with pride, emotion, and a sense of something almost miraculous.

Then, in the midst of that already powerful moment, something entirely unexpected happened.

President Milei joined Israeli singer Hananel Edri on stage—and began to sing.

I reached out shortly after to my friend, Hananel Edri, to understand what it felt like to be part of such a spontaneous and historic moment.

Your performance with President Javier Milei captured global attention. What was that moment like from your perspective?

I’ve been performing and singing for most of my life, but what made this different was that it was completely spontaneous.

The ceremony itself is iconic for Yom Ha’atzmaut, and it’s something I hadn’t done before because I’m usually touring abroad. This year, because of the war, I stayed in Israel. I had just returned from performing in Washington and New York the day before rehearsals. I landed, went straight into performing for Yom HaZikaron, and then I got a call asking,........

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