It is also a time to recognize that the condition of the Jewish people is fundamentally different than it was 75 years ago on the eve of the Holocaust.  Our condition is different not because there is no longer hatred for the Jewish people.  You see that hatred every day, from the pledges of the Iranian regime to wipe Israel off the map to the terrorism and genocidal incitement of Hezbollah and Hamas to the murderous actions of a modern day Nazi near Kansas City.  

This hatred persists despite the hopes of the founder of modern Zionism, Theodore Herzl.  Herzl hoped and in fact believed that if the Jews had their own state, anti-Semitism would fade away.  Herzl was a man whose vision turned him into a modern day prophet.    But history has completely turned on its head his belief that the establishment of the Jewish state would end hatred toward the Jewish people. 

Whereas one hundred years ago, some argued that if only the Jews would establish their own state, anti-Semitism would end.  Today, others argue that by dismantling the Jewish state, anti-Semitism would end.  In the first decades of the 20th century, the call of the anti-Semites was, "Jews, Go to Palestine."  At the beginning of the 21st century, the call of the anti-Semites is, "Jews, Get out of Palestine."

But while the rebirth of Jewish sovereignty did not end hatred toward the Jews, it did give the Jewish people the ability to defend themselves against that hatred.  Israel fundamentally transformed the condition of the Jewish people.  It provided us with two things that our parents and grandparents did not have in those dark days of the 1930s.

First, and most important, it restored our capacity for collective self-defense - something we had not had for nearly two thousand years.  That capability is the reason why Israel exists today.  You know, it's often said that the UN created the State of Israel.  That is simply not true.  The state of Israel was created when David Ben Gurion declared it and when Israel's soldiers defended it against the onslaught of those determined to snuff it out in its cradle.   All the UN decisions in the world would not have helped the Jewish people one iota if Israel had lost its War of Independence  -- or any of the wars that followed for that matter.

Israel's capacity for self-defense has also enabled us for the last 66 years to defy the odds and build the remarkable country that Israel has become today - a global high tech power, a pioneer in science and medicine, a world leader in agriculture and water, a country teeming with innovation and culture.

And this capacity for self-defense is helping Prime Minister Netanyahu navigate Israel's ship of state through some very choppy seas.  At a time when the entire Middle East is steeped in bloodshed and violence, Israel has remained an island of stability and calm - which is a testament to both Israel's robust military strength and to the Prime Minister's prudent leadership.

But along with this capacity for self-defense, the Jewish people have something else that they did not have on the eve of the Holocaust.    Seventy five years ago, there was no one to speak up on behalf of the Jewish people.   

Today, the Jewish people have a voice.  It may be the voice of the Israeli Prime Minister speaking at the United Nations or the voice of Israeli Ambassadors who have the privilege of representing the one and only Jewish state in the capitals of the world.

But in speaking up to defend the rights of the Jewish people, Israel is not alone.  And here is where I come to your wonderful organization, the ADL.  My mother was born in pre-state Israel but I grew up in Miami Beach, Florida.  And I remember frequently reading your newsletters, which always seemed to be strewn around my house.  I learned early on that the ADL was an organization that understood that in defending the rights of Jews, you were defending the rights of others, and that in defending the rights of others; you were defending the rights of Jews.

And year after year, decade after decade, under the remarkable leadership of Abe Foxman and many others, you have raised your voice loudly to defend the rights of Jews and anyone who faces discrimination and persecution. 

So I am here today first and foremost to say thank you.   And I couldn't think of a better day to express that thanks than on Holocaust Memorial Day.

Thank you for giving meaning to the words "never again," by proving year after year that you will never be silent again.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Israel faces enormous challenges, and today I want to say a few words about two of those challenges - the need to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and Israel's unyielding pursuit of peace.

On Iran's nuclear program, first let me state clearly what Israel's policy is.   Our policy is simple: Let Iran have only a peaceful nuclear energy program, and nothing more.  

The truth is we all know that Iran doesn't even need a peaceful nuclear energy program.  It's awash in oil and gas.  And if Iran's regime would stop brutally repressing its own people, stop helping Assad slaughter tens of thousands of civilians, stop perpetrating terror attacks across the globe, stop leading mass chants of Death to America, stop calling for the annihilation of Israel, and stop arming terror organizations that fire thousands of rockets at Israel's cities - in short, if Iran stopped being a rogue, terrorist regime - then they could take advantage of all their natural resources to their hearts delight.

Still, if diplomacy demands that Iran be allowed to have peaceful nuclear energy, then so be it.  But there are 17 countries around the world that have peaceful nuclear energy that do not enrich uranium on their soil, do not stockpile enrich uranium, do not have underground enrichment bunkers, and do not have heavy water facilities.   Iran needs none of these things.   Yet it insists on having them.  You know why?  Because Iran is not interested in a peaceful nuclear program.  Iran wants nuclear weapons.

The P5 +1 must not let Iran keep its nuclear weapons making infrastructure.  The only deal that should be acceptable to the international community is one which fully dismantles Iran's nuclear weapons program.

And one more thing that must be dismantled as part of any deal is Iran's long-range ballistic missile program.  Iran is developing ICBMs - intercontinental ballistic missiles.  The only purpose of an ICBM is to carry a nuclear warhead.  

Only in cartoons do you put TNT on an ICBM.  In the real world, ICBMs carry nuclear payloads.  So if Iran wants what it says it wants - a peaceful nuclear program - then it has no need for ICBMs.  If Iran insists on keeping its ICBMs, then it is crystal clear what its intentions are.  You see, Iran's ICBM program is more than the smoking gun.  It's the smoking missile.  

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Israel is very concerned about the current discussions with Iran because all signs point to the P5 + 1 accepting a deal that would leave Iran's nuclear weapons making capability essentially intact, and not even address Iran's ballistic missile program.

The deal that is now being considered would leave Iran with thousands of centrifuges, thousands of kilos of enriched uranium, a heavy water facility, and an advanced missile program.   Such a deal would leave Iran as a threshold nuclear power - at best a few months away from having the fissile material necessary to produce nuclear weapons.

Such a deal would be much worse than the situation today - because while Iran is now only two or three months away from having that fissile material, they are under tremendous pressure because of the sanctions.   After a deal, they would be only marginally further away from getting that fissile material but the pressures on them would be drastically reduced.  

The logic of the interim deal reached last year was to have Iran take a tiny step back in exchange for what was hoped would be a small reduction of the sanctions.  And Israel appreciates the fact that the Obama administration is doing everything in its power to try to make sure than the sanctions regime does not unravel. 

But an agreement where the P5 + 1 would agree to unravel the sanctions regime against Iran in return for Iran agreeing to park a short distance away from a nuclear weapon would be a terrible mistake.  It would leave Iran as a threshold nuclear power and leave the world on the threshold of an abyss.

It might prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon today, but it would virtually ensure that Iran has a nuclear weapon tomorrow.  That must not be allowed to happen.  Iran's nuclear weapons capability and long range missile capability should be fully dismantled.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

While the most important issue facing Israel is Iran, I also want to address the current impasse with the Palestinians.  Let me explain Israel's position regarding the recent pact President Abbas signed with Hamas.

 

Hamas is an unreformed terror organization.  It openly calls for Israel's destruction.  It fires thousands of rockets at our cities and has sent scores of suicide bombers to blow up discos, pizza shops, and buses.  Hamas denies the Holocaust and its charter calls for the murder of Jews worldwide.

Three years ago, Hamas condemned the United States for killing Osama Bin Laden, whom they praised as a holy warrior.  Two weeks ago, Hamas praised the murderer of Baruch Mizrachi, who was shot in his car while driving with his pregnant wife and children to a Passover Seder.   

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is often said that one makes peace with enemies.  That is a completely facile statement.  One makes peace with enemies who want peace.

Hamas is an enemy that does not want peace.  Hamas has not changed.  It has not recognized Israel's right to exist.  It has not abandoned terrorism.

  

If Hamas does recognize Israel's right to exist and renounces terrorism, then it would be an entirely different story because Hamas would no longer be Hamas.  

Then Palestinian unity could be considered a unity for peace.  Now it's a unity against peace.

So Israel will not negotiate peace with a Palestinian government backed by Hamas.  It does not matter to Israel if the Palestinians establish a technocratic government to serve as a front that will say all the right things.  If Hamas is in the back office, Israel will not be at the negotiating table.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has said for a long time that the problem with the Palestinian leadership is that half of it is committed to Israel's destruction, and the other half, which is ostensibly prepared to live in peace with Israel, refuses to confront the first half.  Last week, President Abbas went from not confronting Hamas to embracing Hamas. 

President Abbas has to choose: Peace with Israel or a Pact with Hamas.   He chose Hamas.  So Israel suspended peace talks.

If President Abbas chooses peace, we can go back to the negotiating table.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Israel faces enormous challenges.  And I know there is much concern, in this room and elsewhere about how we will navigate the rough seas ahead.

But on this day, on Holocaust Memorial day, let us keep things in perspective.

The parents, grandparents, and great grandparents of most of the people in this room would have given anything to swap their problems with ours.

Today, the Jewish people are no longer a powerless people.  Today, we have a Jewish state. Today, we have an army that can defend that state.

And Israel is not alone.  We have the support of so many friends around the world, especially in this great country, the United States, who know that Israel's cause is just.  

The Jewish people have weathered the worst that history has thrown at us.  We will weather this storm as well.  

So, on this Holocaust Day, as we remember a horrific past and recommit ourselves to fighting against anti-Semitism, racism and all forms of discrimination persecution --  

We should all stand very tall and very proud because we are a uniquely blessed generation:

Blessed to have the United States of America, the country that has been the greatest force for good in history, as the preeminent power in the world.   And blessed to have witnessed the rebirth of Jewish sovereignty in modern times - and with it a renewed hope for a secure and peaceful Jewish future. 

Photo Credit: Photo: Anti Defamation League's​ Twitter Account​