(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Monday, 12 April 2021), at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Prime Minister Netanyahu:
"Secretary Austin, welcome to Jerusalem. Your visit here so soon after assuming office is a testament to the importance you attach to our friendship and to our alliance.
“You just said a moment ago in our meeting you said we're not just allies, we're family. We call that mishpucha. There is so much truth in that statement that our peoples instinctively understand.
“As you know, the US-Israel defense partnership has continuously expanded over successive administrations and our cooperation is crucial in dealing with the many threats confronting both the United States and Israel. Threats that you are very familiar with from your distinguished service in Iraq and by your command in CENTCOM.
“In the Middle East, there is no threat that is more serious, more dangerous, more pressing than that posed by the fanatical regime in Iran.
“Iran continues to support terrorists around the world in five continents, threatening civilians everywhere. Iran has never given up its quest for nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them. Iran consistently and outrageously calls for Israel's annihilation and works towards that goal.
“Mr. Secretary, we both know the horrors of war. We both understand the importance of preventing war and we both agree that Iran must never possess nuclear weapons.
“My policy as Prime Minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel. Israel will continue to defend itself against Iran's aggression and terrorism.
“You have just come from Yad Vashem. A few days ago we marked the anniversary of the destruction of our people in the Holocaust. I think, as I know also from our conversation, that you understand perfectly well that when we say it could never happen again we mean that we will never let it happen again. This is something that I think you, the President and the American people respect and we appreciate that.
“Secretary Austin, I can say with great confidence that Israel has no greater ally and certainly no greater mishpucha than the United States of America and I can say equally that the United States has no greater ally and no greater mishpucha than the State of Israel.
“Welcome to Jerusalem."