Netanyahu: ‘The Days When the Jewish People are Passive ... Are Over’
“Ladies and gentlemen, the purpose of my address to Congress tomorrow is to speak up about a potential deal with Iran that could threaten the survival of Israel. Iran is the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Look at that graph. Look at that map that you see on the wall. It shows Iran training, arming, dispatching terrorists on five continents.
Iran envelopes the entire world with its tentacles of terror. This is what Iran is doing now without nuclear weapons. Imagine what Iran would do with nuclear weapons. And this same Iran vows to annihilate Israel. If it develops nuclear weapons, it would have the means to achieve that goal. We must not let that happen. (Applause)
And as Prime Minister of Israel, I have a moral obligation to speak up in the face of these dangers while there's still time to avert them. For 2,000 years, my people, the Jewish people, were stateless, defenseless, voiceless. We were utterly powerless against our enemies who swore to destroy us. We suffered relentless persecution and horrific attacks. We could never speak on our own behalf, and we could not defend ourselves.
Well, no more, no more! (Applause) The days when the Jewish people are passive in the face of threats to annihilate us, those days are over. (Applause)
Today in our sovereign state of Israel, we defend ourselves. And being able to defend ourselves, we ally with others, most importantly, the United States of America, to defend our common civilization against common threats. (Applause)
In our part of the world and increasingly, in every part of the world, no one makes alliances with the weak. You seek out those who have strength, those who have resolve, those who have the determination to fight for themselves. That's how alliances are formed. So we defend ourselves and in so doing, create the basis of a broader alliance.
And today, we are no longer silent. Today, we have a voice. (Applause) And tomorrow, as prime minister of the one and only Jewish state, I plan to use that voice.” (Applause)
