1 October 2015
PM Netanyahu’s Address
to the UN General Assembly
Ladies
and Gentlemen, I bring you greetings from Jerusalem. The city in which the
Jewish People's hopes and prayers for peace for all of humanity have echoed
throughout the ages.
Thirty-one years ago, as Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, I stood at
this podium for the first time. I spoke that day against a resolution sponsored
by Iran to expel Israel from the United Nations.
Then as now, the UN was obsessively hostile towards Israel, the one true
democracy in the Middle East. Then as now, some sought to deny the one and only
Jewish state a place among the nations.
I ended that first speech by saying: Gentlemen, check your fanaticism at the
door.
More than three decades later, as the Prime Minister of Israel, I am again
privileged to speak from this podium. And for me, that privilege has always
come with a moral responsibility to speak the truth. So after three days of
listening to world leaders praise the nuclear deal with Iran, I begin my speech
today by saying: Ladies and Gentlemen, check your enthusiasm at the door.
You see, this deal doesn't make peace more likely. By fueling Iran's
aggressions with billions of dollars in sanctions relief, it makes war more
likely.
Just look at what Iran has done in the last six months alone, since the
framework agreement was announced in Lausanne. Iran boosted its supply of
devastating weapons to Syria. Iran sent more soldiers of its Revolutionary
Guard into Syria. Iran sent thousands of Afghani and Pakistani Shi'ite fighters
to Syria.
Iran did all this to prop up Assad's brutal regime. Iran also shipped tons of
weapons and ammunitions to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, including another
shipment just two days ago. Iran threatened to topple Jordan. Iran's proxy
Hezbollah smuggled into Lebanon SA-22 missiles to down our planes, and Yakhont
cruise missiles to sink our ships. Iran supplied Hezbollah with
precision-guided surface-to-surface missiles and attack drones so it can
accurately hit any target in Israel. Iran aided Hamas and Islamic Jihad in building
armed drones in Gaza.
Iran also made clear its plans to open two new terror fronts against Israel,
promising to arm Palestinians in the West Bank and sending its Revolutionary
Guard generals to the Golan Heights, from which its operatives recently fired
rockets on northern Israel.
Israel will continue to respond forcefully to any attacks against it from
Syria. Israel will continue to act to prevent the transfer of strategic weapons
to Hezbollah from and through Syrian territory.
Every few weeks, Iran and Hezbollah set up new terror cells in cities
throughout the world. Three such cells were recently uncovered in Kuwait,
Jordan and Cyprus. In May, security forces in Cyprus raided a Hezbollah agent's
apartment in the city of Larnaca. There they found five tons of ammonium
nitrate, that's roughly the same amount of ammonium nitrate that was used to
blow up the federal building in Oklahoma City.
And that's just in one apartment, in one city, in one country.
But Iran is setting up dozens of terror cells like this around the world,
ladies and gentlemen, they're setting up those terror cells in this hemisphere
too.
I repeat: Iran's been doing all of this, everything that I've just described,
just in the last six months, when it was trying to convince the world to remove
the sanctions.
Now just imagine what Iran will do after those sanctions are lifted. Unleashed
and un-muzzled, Iran will go on the prowl, devouring more and more prey.
In the wake of the nuclear deal, Iran is spending billions of dollars on
weapons and satellites. You think Iran is doing that to advance peace? You
think hundreds of billions of dollars in sanctions relief and fat contracts
will turn this rapacious tiger into a kitten? If you do, you should think
again.
In 2013 President Rouhani began his so-called charm offensive here at the UN.
Two years later, Iran is executing more political prisoners, escalating its
regional aggression, and rapidly expanding its global terror network.
You know they say, actions speak louder than words. But in Iran's case, the
words speak as loud as the actions.
Just listen to the Deputy Commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Quds Force.
Here's what he said in February: "The Islamic revolution is not limited by
geographic borders...." He boasted that Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria,
Palestine and Yemen are among the countries being "conquered by the
Islamic Republic of Iran."
Conquered.
And for those of you who believe that the deal in Vienna will bring a change in
Iran's policy, just listen to what Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei
said five days after the nuclear deal was reached: "Our policies towards
the arrogant government of the United States will not change." The United
States, he vowed, will continue to be Iran's enemy.
While giving the mullahs more money is likely to fuel more repression inside
Iran, it will definitely fuel more aggression outside Iran.
As the leader of a country defending itself every day against Iran's growing
aggression, I wish I could take comfort in the claim that this deal blocks
Iran's path to nuclear weapons.
But I can't, because it doesn't. This deal does place several constraints on
Iran's nuclear program. And rightly so, because the international community
recognizes that Iran is so dangerous.
But you see here's the catch: Under this deal, If Iran doesn't change its
behavior, In fact, if it becomes even more dangerous in the years to come, the
most important constraints will still be automatically lifted by year 10 and by
year 15. That would place a militant Islamic terror regime weeks away from
having the fissile material for an entire arsenal of nuclear bombs. That just
doesn't make any sense.
I've said that if Iran wants to be treated like a normal country, let it act
like a normal country. But this deal, this deal will treat Iran like a normal
country even if it remains a dark theocracy that conquers its neighbors,
sponsors terrorism worldwide and chants "Death to Israel",
"Death to America."
Does anyone seriously believe that flooding a radical theocracy with weapons
and cash will curb its appetite for aggression?
Do any of you really believe that a theocratic Iran with sharper claws and
sharper fangs will be more likely to change its stripes?
So here's a general rule that I've learned and you must have learned in your
life time: When bad behavior is rewarded, it only gets worse.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have long said that the greatest danger facing our world is the coupling of
militant Islam with nuclear weapons. And I'm gravely concerned that the nuclear
deal with Iran will prove to be the marriage certificate of that unholy union.
I know that some well-intentioned people sincerely believe that this deal is
the best way to block Iran's path to the bomb.
But one of history's most important yet least learned lessons is this: The best
intentions don't prevent the worst outcomes.
The vast majority of Israelis believe that this nuclear deal with Iran is a
very bad deal. And what makes matters even worse is that we see a world
celebrating this bad deal, rushing to embrace and do business with a regime
openly committed to our destruction.
Last week, Major General Salehi, the commander of Iran's army, proclaimed this:
"We will annihilate Israel for sure." "We are glad that we are
in the forefront of executing the Supreme Leader's order to destroy
Israel."
And as for the Supreme Leader himself, a few days after the nuclear deal was
announced, he released his latest book. Here it is. It's a 400-page screed
detailing his plan to destroy the State of Israel.
Last month, Khamenei once again made his genocidal intentions clear before
Iran's top clerical body, the Assembly of Experts. He spoke about Israel, home
to over six million Jews. He pledged, "there will be no Israel in 25
years."
Seventy years after the murder of six million Jews, Iran's rulers promise to
destroy my country. Murder my people. And the response from this body, the
response from nearly every one of the governments represented here has been
absolutely nothing! Utter silence! Deafening silence.
Perhaps you can now understand why Israel is not joining you in celebrating
this deal.
If Iran's rulers were working to destroy your countries, perhaps you'd be less
enthusiastic about the deal. If Iran's terror proxies were firing thousands of
rockets at your cities, perhaps you'd be more measured in your praise. And if
this deal were unleashing a nuclear arms race in your neighborhood, perhaps
you'd be more reluctant to celebrate.
But don't think that Iran is only a danger to Israel. Besides Iran's aggression
in the Middle East and its terror around the world, Iran is also building
intercontinental ballistic missiles whose sole purpose is to carry nuclear
warheads.
Now remember this: Iran already has missiles that can reach Israel. So those
intercontinental ballistic missiles that Iran is building - they're not meant
for us - they're meant for you. For Europe. For America. For raining down mass
destruction - anytime, anywhere.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It's not easy to oppose something that is embraced by the greatest powers in
the world. Believe me, it would be far easier to remain silent. But throughout
our history, the Jewish people have learned the heavy price of silence. And as
the Prime Minister of the Jewish State, as someone who knows that history, I
refuse to be silent.
I'll say it again: The days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face
of genocidal enemies - those days are over.
Not being passive means speaking up about those dangers. We have. We are. We
will.
Not being passive also means defending ourselves against those dangers. We
have. We are. And we will.
Israel will not allow Iran to break-in, to sneak-in or to walk-in to the
nuclear weapons club.
I know that preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons remains the official
policy of the international community. But no one should question Israel's
determination to defend itself against those who seek our destruction. For in
every generation, there were those who rose up to destroy our people.
In antiquity, we faced destruction from the ancient empires of Babylon and
Rome. In the Middle Ages, we faced inquisition and expulsion. And in modern
times, we faced pogroms and the Holocaust. Yet the Jewish people persevered.
And now another regime has arisen, swearing to destroy Israel. That regime
would be wise to consider this: I stand here today representing Israel, a
country 67 years young,
but the nation-state of a people nearly 4,000 years old. Yet the empires of
Babylon and Rome are not represented in this hall of nations. Neither is the
Thousand Year Reich. Those seemingly invincible empires are long gone. But
Israel lives. The people of Israel live. עם ישראל חי [Am
Israel Chai].
The re-birth of Israel is a testament to the indomitable spirit of my people.
For a hundred generations, the Jewish people dreamed of returning to the Land
of Israel. Even in our darkest hours, and we had so many, even in our darkest
hours we never gave up hope of rebuilding our eternal capital Jerusalem.
The establishment of Israel made realizing that dream possible. It has enabled
us to live as a free people in our ancestral homeland. It's enabled us to
embrace Jews who've come from the four corners of the earth to find refuge from
persecution. They came from war-torn Europe, from Yemen, Iraq, Morocco, from
Ethiopia and the Soviet Union, from a hundred other lands. And today, as a
rising tide of antisemitism once again sweeps across Europe and elsewhere, many
Jews come to Israel to join us in building the Jewish future.
So here's my message to the rulers of Iran: Your plan to destroy Israel will
fail. Israel will not permit any force on earth to threaten its future.
And here's my message to all the countries represented here: Whatever
resolutions you may adopt in this building, whatever decisions you may take in
your capitals, Israel will do whatever it must do to defend our state and to
defend our people.
Distinguished delegates,
As this deal with Iran moves ahead, I hope you'll enforce it…how can I put
this? With a little more rigor than you showed with the six Security Council
resolutions that Iran has systematically violated and which now have been
effectively discarded.
Make sure that the inspectors actually inspect. Make sure that the snapback sanctions
actually snap back. And make sure that Iran's violations aren't swept under the
Persian rug.
Well, of one thing I can assure you: Israel will be watching... closely.
What the international community now needs to do is clear:
First, make Iran comply with all its nuclear obligations. Keep Iran's feet to
the fire. Second, check Iran's regional aggression. Support and strengthen
those fighting Iran's aggression, beginning with Israel. Third, use sanctions
and all the tools available to you to tear down Iran's global terror network.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Israel is working closely with our Arab peace partners to address our common
security challenges from Iran and also the security challenges from ISIS and
from others. We are also working with other states in the Middle East as well
as countries in Africa, in Asia and beyond.
Many in our region know that both Iran and ISIS are our common enemies. And
when your enemies fight each other, don't strengthen either one - weaken both.
Common dangers are clearly bringing Israel and its Arab neighbors closer. And
as we work together to thwart those dangers, I hope we'll build lasting
partnerships - lasting partnerships for security, for prosperity and for
peace.
But in Israel, we never forget one thing. We never forget that the most
important partner that Israel has has always been, and will always be, the
United States of America. The alliance between Israel and the United States is
unshakeable.
President Obama and I agree on the need to keep arms out of the hands of Iran's
terror proxies. We agree on the need to stop Iran from destabilizing countries
throughout the Middle East.
Israel deeply appreciates President Obama's willingness to bolster our
security, help Israel maintain its qualitative military edge and help Israel
confront the enormous challenges we face. Israel is grateful that this
sentiment is widely shared by the American people and its representatives in
Congress, by both those who supported the deal and by those who opposed it.
President Obama and I have both said that our differences over the nuclear deal
are a disagreement within the family. But we have no disagreement about the
need to work together to secure our common future.
And what a great future it could be.
Israel is uniquely poised to seize the promise of the 21st century. Israel is a
world leader in science and technology, in cyber, software, water, agriculture,
medicine, biotechnology and so many other fields that are being revolutionized
by Israeli ingenuity and Israeli innovation.
Israel is the innovation nation. Israeli knowhow is everywhere. It's in your
computers' microprocessors and flash drives. It's in your smartphones, when you
send instant messages and navigate your cars. It's on your farms, when you drip
irrigate your crops and keep your grains and produce fresh. It's in your
universities, when you study Nobel Prize winning discoveries in chemistry and
economics. It's in your medicine cabinets, when you use drugs to treat
Parkinson's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. It's even on your plate, when you
eat the delicious cherry tomato. That too was perfected in Israel, in case you
didn't know.
We are so proud in Israel of the long strides our country has made in a short
time. We're so proud that our small country is making such a huge contribution
to the entire world.
Yet the dreams of our people, enshrined for eternity by the great prophets of
the Bible, those dreams will be fully realized only when there is peace.
As the Middle East descends into chaos, Israel's peace agreements with Egypt
and Jordan are two cornerstones of stability.
Israel remains committed to achieving peace with the Palestinians as well.
Israelis know the price of war. I know the price of war. I was nearly killed in
battle. I lost many friends. I lost my beloved brother Yoni.
Those who know the price of war can best appreciate what the blessings of peace
would mean - for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren.
I am prepared to immediately, immediately, resume direct peace negotiations
with the Palestinian Authority without any preconditions whatsoever.
Unfortunately, President Abbas said yesterday that he is not prepared to do
this. Well, I hope he changes his mind. Because I remain committed to a vision
of two states for two peoples, in which a demilitarized Palestinian state
recognizes the Jewish state.
You know, the peace process began over two decades ago. Yet despite the best
efforts of six Israeli prime ministers - Rabin, Peres, Barak, Sharon, Olmert
and myself - the Palestinians have consistently refused to end the conflict and
make a final peace with Israel.
And unfortunately, you heard that rejectionism again only yesterday from
President Abbas.
How can Israel make peace with a Palestinian partner who refuses to even sit at
the negotiating table? Israel expects the Palestinian Authority to abide by its
commitments.
The Palestinians should not walk away from peace. President Abbas, I know it's
not easy. I know it's hard. But we owe it to our peoples to try, to continue to
try, because together, if we actually negotiate and stop negotiating about the
negotiation, if we actually sit down and try to resolve this conflict between
us, recognize each other, not use a Palestinian state as a stepping stone for
another Islamist dictatorship in the Middle East, but something that will live
at peace next to the Jewish state, if we actually do that, we can do remarkable
things for our peoples.
The UN can help advance peace by supporting direct, unconditional negotiations
between the parties. The UN won't help peace, certainly won't help advance
peace by trying to impose solutions or by encouraging Palestinian rejectionism,
And the UN, distinguished delegates, should do one more thing. The UN should
finally rid itself of the obsessive bashing of Israel.
Here's just one absurd example of this obsession: In four years of horrific
violence in Syria, more than a quarter of a million people have lost their
lives. That's more than ten times, more than ten times, the number of Israelis
and Palestinians combined who have lost their lives in a century of conflict
between us.
Yet last year, this Assembly adopted 20 resolutions against Israel and just one
resolution about the savage slaughter in Syria. Talk about injustice. Talk
about disproportionality. Twenty. Count them. One against Syria. Well,
frankly I am not surprised.
To borrow a line from Yogi Berra, the late, great baseball player and part time
philosopher: When it comes to the annual bashing of Israel at the UN, it's déjà
vu all over again.
Enough!
Thirty one years after I stood here for the first time, I'm still asking: When
will the UN finally check its anti-Israel fanaticism at the door? When will the
UN finally stop slandering Israel as a threat to peace and actually start
helping Israel advance peace?
And the same question should be posed to Palestinian leaders. When will you
start working with Israel to advance peace and reconciliation and stop libeling
Israel, stop inciting hatred and violence?
President Abbas, here's a good place to begin: Stop spreading lies about
Israel's alleged intentions on the Temple Mount. Israel is fully committed to
maintaining the status quo there.
What President Abbas should be speaking out against are the actions of militant
Islamists who are smuggling explosives into the al-Aqsa mosque and who are
trying to prevent Jews and Christians from visiting the holy sites. That's the
real threat to these sacred sites.
A thousand years before the birth of Christianity, more than 1,500 years before
the birth of Islam, King David made Jerusalem our capital, and King Solomon
built the Temple on that mount. Yet Israel, Israel will always respect the
sacred shrines of all.
In a region plagued by violence and by unimaginable intolerance, in which
Islamic fanatics are destroying the ancient treasures of civilization, Israel
stands out as a towering beacon of enlightenment and tolerance.
Far from endangering the holy sites, it is Israel that ensures their safety.
Because unlike the powers who have ruled Jerusalem in the past, Israel respects
the holy sites and freedom of worship of all - Jews, Muslims, Christians,
everyone. And that, ladies and gentlemen, will never change.
Because Israel will always stay true to its values. These values are on display
each and every day: When Israel's feisty parliament vigorously debates every
issue under the sun, when Israel's Chief Justice sits in her chair at our
fiercely independent Supreme Court, when our Christian community continues to
grow and thrive from year to year, as Christian communities are decimated
elsewhere in the Middle East, when a brilliant young Israeli Muslim student
gives her valedictorian address at one of our finest universities, and when
Israeli doctors and nurses - doctors and nurses from the Israeli military - treat
thousands of wounded from the killing fields of Syria and thousands more in the
wake of natural disasters from Haiti to Nepal.
This is the true face of Israel. These are the values of Israel.
And in the Middle East, these values are under savage assault by militant
Islamists who are forcing millions of terrified people to flee to distant
shores.
Ten miles from ISIS, a few hundred yards from Iran's murderous proxies, Israel
stands in the breach - proudly and courageously, defending freedom and
progress.
Israel is civilization's front line in the battle against barbarism.
So here's a novel idea for the United Nations: Instead of continuing the
shameful routine of bashing Israel, stand with Israel. Stand with Israel as we
check the fanaticism at our door. Stand with Israel as we prevent that
fanaticism from reaching your door.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Stand with Israel because Israel is not just defending itself. More than ever,
Israel is defending you