Argentine President Javier Milei speaks at the 12th annual Algemeiner J100 Gala on March 9, 2026, in New York City.

The Algemeiner on Monday, March 9, unveiled its 12th annual “J100” list at a gala in New York City, honoring a diverse group of individuals who have positively influenced Jewish life in 2025.

Opening the evening, Algemeiner chairman Simon Jacobson framed the event as both a celebration and a response to a moment of profound upheaval.

“We are living in historic times, and this is a historic evening,” Jacobson said. “As we speak, battles are raging in the Middle East, impacting our dear brothers and sisters in the Holy Land and good and innocent people all over the world. We are here to declare that there is no challenge that is too great, and we have a response: The Algemeiner Journal was founded over 50 years ago. Its mission is quite simple: that in an age of misinformation, propaganda travels faster than facts. Where the war is being fought on the landscape of ideas, of narratives, The Algemeiner is an unwavering and courageous voice of truth and integrity in journalism.”

Jacobson’s remarks set the tone for an evening centered on moral clarity, Jewish resilience, and the defense of truth at a time of rising global antisemitism and continued efforts to isolate and demonize Israel in the public square.

He also emphasized that Argentine President Javier Milei is a leader for these times, a theme that featured prominently throughout the gala.

Milei addressed the gala after accepting the Warrior for Truth award, which recognized him for being an ardent supporter of the Jewish community and the State of Israel.

His wide-ranging speech drew on biblical wisdom, economic theory, and moral clarity, while focusing on the idea that morality in statecraft is not weakness, but courage.

“Morality as state policy is, above all, courage,” Milei said. “It is doing good, even when it seems costly, even when it seems to cost friendships or relationships … morality as state policy means facing the uncertainty of the future with courage, without sacrificing the core of our identity which is our values.”

Focusing on the intersection of religiously grounded morality and geopolitics, Milei argued that moral clarity in public life need not come at the expense of strength. Rather, he suggested, it is precisely such clarity that allows nations to defend themselves and their principles in moments of uncertainty and danger.

He went on to warn that the West’s foundational values are under threat, casting the defense of Israel, Argentina, and the United States as part of a broader struggle to preserve a shared civilizational inheritance.

“Today, our moral sense tells us something with absolute certainty: The West is in danger,” Milei said. “The values that made this era of prosperity and common freedom possible are being eroded from the ground up. Today our morals give us a mandate. We must fight to defend our legacy, which is our societies … from those who want to take it away from us, from those who want to make us believe that … we are evil.”

“We cannot fail in this mandate,” he added. “We cannot fail in Argentina, nor in Israel, nor less in the United States which is the last great guardian of our civilizational legacy.”

Also honored at the gala was David Draiman, the heavy metal singer who has become one of Israel’s most outspoken supporters in the music industry. Over the past year, Draiman has used his massive public platform to amplify pro-Israel messages relentlessly, emerging as a prominent voice against antisemitism and against efforts to silence public support for the Jewish state.

Draiman struck a defiant but reassuring tone in his remarks, addressing the gap between the hostility amplified online and the reality on the ground.

“I’m here to tell you that despite all of the bark that you hear online, and there is a lot of it, the loudest voices are the most extreme voices, and they echo incessantly in their own echo chambers,” he said. “But the beautiful reality of it is that the bark is nowhere near what the bite actually is.”

His remarks resonated strongly with attendees and underscored one of the evening’s broader messages: that while anti-Israel incitement and antisemitism have become impossible to ignore, Jewish pride, solidarity, and moral confidence remain more powerful than the noise surrounding them.

The annual J100 list recognizes individuals from across politics, culture, business, media, and public life who have had a positive impact on the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Over the years, the list and gala have become signature expressions of The Algemeiner‘s mission to spotlight moral leadership and Jewish achievement in the international arena.

Past Algemeiner gala honorees and participants have included prominent political leaders, writers, entertainers, and advocates from around the world. Founded in 1972, The Algemeiner is a New York-based news organization covering Israel, the Jewish world, and the Middle East.