Bibi Netanyahu: “We Believe in this Alliance Between Israel and India.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Thursday, 28 June 2018), at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, met with the Chief Minister of the Indian State of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani, and welcomed him to Israel, his first visit outside India since taking up office. The Prime Minister conveyed greetings to his friend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The two discussed the continued strengthening of relations between the two countries. Gujarat Chief Minister Rupani expressed great interest in Israeli water, agriculture and cyber technologies.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “We believe in this alliance between Israel and India, and it was tremendously enhanced by Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Israel. I was pleased to be in Gujarat, and now I’m pleased that Gujarat is in Israel.”

 

Israel and Latin America: Continuing Their Growing Partnership

Prime Minister Netanyahu met with a delegation of chairpersons of foreign affairs committees of Latin American parliaments and noted he is due to fly to Guatemala this November for a regional meeting. This meeting continues the growing partnerships Israel has in Latin America.  Evidence of this was on full display as Guatemala and Paraguay both moved their embassies to Jerusalem after the USA became the first country to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

Will Latin America Be Israel’s New Africa?

With the large amount of believing Christians in Latin America, most being pro-Israel, there is clear evidence that the same sort of synergy that catipulted Israel and Sub-Saharan African relationships exists in there as well.  Israel’s growing partnerships with a variety of countries in Latin America provide it with new markets and partners who are hungry for Israeli know-how and technological innovation.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said the following to the delegation:

“You’re very welcome here. Our relations with the countries of Latin America are obviously changing very rapidly for the better. I’m very proud of the fact that I was the first Israeli prime minister to visit any country south of Texas.

I had an opportunity to go first to Argentina, then to Colombia, then to Mexico. And I intend to have another meeting in November, September. We’re going to Guatemala for a regional meeting, so I’ll have the opportunity to meet the leaders of all your countries.

You’re all parliamentarians, and as far as I’m concerned, you’re all ambassadors. Now you’re ambassadors of Israel and of the truth. Please convey to your fellow citizens, this is very important, for us and people who know Israel as it is.

Here’s something about Israel. You’re sitting now in the seat of the Israeli government. It’s here in Jerusalem. Right next to us, is the Knesset, our parliament. It’s in Jerusalem. Right next to that is the Supreme Court. It’s in Jerusalem. The President’s house is in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. We are very …And it will always be the capital of Israel. It’s been the capital of Israel for three thousand years. This is a description of our government under King Solomon, the son of King David, three thousand years ago. Jerusalem has been our capital for three thousand years and it will be our capital.

I’m very glad that Guatemala has moved its embassy. I’m very glad that Paraguay has moved its embassy. And I ask you, as well as being Israel’s ambassadors, to ask your governments to move their embassies to Jerusalem. So we can say, ‘Next year in Jerusalem’.”



BIBI NETANYAHU: “It is Iran that is Responsible”

As calm began to return to the Gaza belt communities, Prime Minister Netanyahu touched on the IDF’s response the attacks by Hamas.

“Since yesterday the IDF has strongly retaliated against the firing from the Gaza Strip and has hit dozens of terrorist targets in the severest blow we have landed on them in years,” the Prime Minister Netanyahu stated at a ceremony for the victims of the Atalena.

“The Hamas regime, Islamic Jihad and the other terrorist organizations, inspired by Iran, that are responsible for the escalation. I will not detail our plans because I do not want the enemy to know what to expect. But one thing is clear: When they test us, they pay immediately. And if they continue testing us, they will pay dearly.”

“I salute the fighters of the IDF and the security forces and I commend the resilience of the residents of the south.”

As of tonight, the IDF’s strategy of hitting hard and early to prevent a cascading conflict appears to be working as Hamas has stopped firing rockets. Given the fluid situation anything is possible, but it appears that Hamas is rethinking its offensive.



NETANYAHU TO HAMAS: “The IDF will respond with great force to these attacks.”

While speaking at the 9th Annual Galilee Conference, Prime Minister Netanyahu referred to the attacks on Israel by Hamas as well as the Syria situation.  The attacks saw countless mortars fired at Israel, with one landing next to a kindergarden.




Netanyahu said the following on the situation:

“Israel views with utmost gravity the attacks against it and its communities by Hamas and Islamic Jihad from the Gaza Strip.

The IDF will respond with great force to these attacks. Israel will exact a heavy price from anyone who tries to attack it, and we view Hamas as responsible for preventing such attacks against us.

Regarding Syria, I have made clear our red lines many times, and we will enforce them without compromise. We will not allow Iran to establish a military presence in Syria and operate against us from there, and also not to transfer dangerous weapons from Syria to Lebanon, or to produce them in Lebanon.

I would like to reiterate: We are acting against an Iranian military presence anywhere on Syrian territory. An Iranian departure from southern Syria alone will not suffice. The long-range missiles that Iran is working to station in Syria will endanger us even beyond the range of several kilometers from southern Syria; therefore, Iran needs to leave Syria altogether. We are not party to understandings to the effect that we have agreed to less than this.

In any case, we will always act according to our security interests, with or without understandings. We will defend ourselves by ourselves, unified, united, and determined to ensure our security and our future.”



Meanwhile, Israel’s Airforce has struck targets in central Gaza in response to the mortar fire.

 

Bibi Netanyahu: “Tehran is the main element undermining stability in the Middle East”

With the war of words between the United States and the Iranian regime heating up, Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized the destablizing nature of the Ayatollahs on the whole region in today’s cabinet meeting.

“The regime in Tehran is the main element undermining stability in the Middle East. The campaign against its aggression is not over; we are still in the midst of it.

We are working to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons. At the same time we are working against the establishment of an Iranian military presence against us; to this end we are also operating against the transfer of deadly weapons from Syria to Lebanon or their manufacture in Lebanon. All of these weapons are for use against the State of Israel and it is our right – based on the right of self-defense – to prevent their manufacture or transfer.”

The last point is key to understand the shifting lines of what has become a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran.  Iranian bases in Syria were never the regime’s main strategy in isolating Israel.  The IRGC always understood that in order to really isolate the Jewish state it would have to deliver game changing weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon.  This had been occurring since the 2006 Lebanon war.



Hezbollah has nearly 100,000 missiles aimed at Israel.  These are not Hamas style rockets, but rather many of them are serious Iranian precision guided missiles.  While stopping Iran from controlling Syria is extremely important, Netanyahu’s point about preventing the transference of weapons to Hezbollah underscores Iran’s shift back to Hezbollah as their main tool of war against Israel.

In fact, the main targets of attacks by the Israel Airforce (IAF) is now against weapons depots in Syria that are meant to service Iranian arms shipments into Hezbollah’s hands.

With Iran pressed by the Trump administration’s decertification of the JCPOA, Hezbollah now becomes the main angle for the regime in Tehran to attack back against Israel.  This only appears to be a matter of time.

 

 

BIBI NETANYAHU TO ERDOGAN: “Don’t Preach to Us About Morality”

Turkey’s islamist and autocratic ruler President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has taken the lead in the current international onslaught against Israel for its defense from Hamas terrorists.

“Israel is wreaking state terror. Israel is a terror state,” Erdogan told Turkish students in London. “What Israel has done is a genocide. I condemn this humanitarian drama, the genocide, from whichever side it comes, Israel or America.”

In response to Israel’s defense on the Gaza border, Turkey has recalled its ambassadors from both Israel and the United States.

In response to Erdogan’s comments Prime Minister Netanyahu responded by stating: “Erdogan is among Hamas’s biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us.”

Beyond supporting Hamas, it was Erdogan’s Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) that not only overran the Kurdish majority Afrin canton in Syria over a month ago, but killed thousands of what he called Kurdish terrorists.  Most reports indicated that many of those killed were civilians.  Of course as I noted in an article at the time, Erdogan selectively uses the word terrorist interchangeably when referring to groups of people he doesn’t like.




Netanyahu had said something similar in response to another outrageous Erdogan comment back in April: “Erdogan is not used to people responding to him, but he should start getting used to it. Anyone who occupies northern Cyprus, invades the Kurdish strip and slaughters citizens in Afrin, should not lecture us about values and ethics.”

I wrote the following in connection to the Prime Minister’s response: “The continuing realignment in the Middle East has begun to create chaos with a number of actors scrambling to pick sides. Donald Trump has clearly decided to pull the USA out of the mess, but that has only created more of a mess. Bibi’s statement about the Kurds and Cyprus is a hint of the role that Israel appears ready and willing to take on. This of course pits the Jewish state on a collision course with Turkey who has delusions of returning to the golden age of the Ottoman Empire.”

Since April Israel has strengthened its eastern Mediteranean alliance with both Cyprus and Greece with a direct visit to Cyprus by Bibi to strengthen Israel’s partnership on building the EastMed Pipeline last week.

The event was not lost on Erdogan, who stands to lose big on enhanced ties between Cyprus, Greece, and Israel. In fact Erdogan cited an east Meditereanean security threat due to Cyprus’ activities in the eastern Meditereanean.  Like anything else Erdogan doesn’t like, it becomes a dangerous security threat or essentially a false pretext to pick a fight.

Israel must continue to take the mantle of leadership it has been given and lead and remain undaunted in the face of faux moralists who twist the truth to suit their geopolitical needs. This is why Prime Minister Netanyahu quoted the prophet Zecharia at the embassy opening: “Jerusalem is the City of Truth.”

BIBI NETANYAHU: “We are in Jerusalem and we are here to stay.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu said the following words at the US Embassy Dedication in Jerusalem today (14th of May):

“We have no better friends in the world. You stand for Israel and you stand for Jerusalem. Thank you.

Your presence here today is a testament to the importance of this occasion, not only for the Trump administration, but in a very personal way for you. For you, each of you, for the pursuit of peace, and for President Trump himself. Thank you.

Dear friends,

What a glorious day. Remember this moment. This is history. President Trump, by recognizing history, you have made history.

All of us are deeply moved. All of us are deeply grateful.

For me, being here brings back wonderful memories from my childhood. [Hebrew] So, I know some of you didn’t follow every word I said in Hebrew, and I’ll tell you that I spent the first three years of my life in this neighborhood, in Ein Gedi Street in Talpiot, which is not very far away. There were a few charming houses here, many open fields. I remember ambling in these fields with my brother, Yoni. He was six; I was three. He held my hand very tight. We’d walk to this wondrous house of Professor Joseph Klausner, the renowned Jewish historian who was my father’s teacher. I used to peer through the slats of the wooden synagogue where he and the great Israeli writer, Shai Agnon, used to pray on Shabbat. And David, I would approach this place right here, but only so far, because my mother told me, ‘You can’t go any further.’ This was near the border. It was exposed to sniper fire. That was then. This is now, today.

Today, the embassy of the most powerful nation on earth, our greatest ally, the United States of America, today its embassy opened here.

So for me this spot brings back personal memories, but for our people, it evokes profound collective memories of the greatest moments we have known on this City on a Hill.

In Jerusalem, Abraham passed the greatest test of faith and the right to be the father of our nation.

In Jerusalem, King David established our capital three thousand years ago.

In Jerusalem, King Solomon built our Temple, which stood for many centuries.

In Jerusalem, Jewish exiles from Babylon rebuilt the Temple, which stood for many more centuries.

In Jerusalem, the Maccabees rededicated that Temple and restored Jewish sovereignty in this land.

And it was here in Jerusalem some two thousand years later that the soldiers of Israel spoke three immortal words, ‘Har ha’bayit be’yadeinu,’ ‘The Temple Mount is in our hands,’ words that lifted the spirit of the entire nation.

We are in Jerusalem and we are here to stay.

We are here in Jerusalem, protected by the brave soldiers of the army of Israel, led by our Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, and our brave soldiers, our brave soldiers are protecting the borders of Israel as we speak today. We salute them all, and the members of our security forces, the Shin Bet and the Mossad, whose head is with us today. We salute you all, all of you.




Over a century ago, the Balfour Declaration recognized the right of the Jewish people to a national home in this land. And exactly 70 years ago today, President Truman became the first world leader to recognize the newborn Jewish state. Last December, President Trump became the first world leader to recognize Jerusalem as our capital. And today, the United States of America is opening its embassy right here in Jerusalem.

Thank you. Thank you, President Trump, for having the courage to keep your promises. Thank you, President Trump, and thank you all, for making the alliance between America and Israel stronger than ever. And thank you, a special thank you, to you, Ambassador Friedman. Thank you, David, for everything you do to bring our countries and our peoples closer together. Today, you have a special privilege. You are privileged to become the first American ambassador to serve your country in Jerusalem, and this is a distinct honor that will be yours forever. Nobody can be first again.

My friends, this is a great day for Israel. It’s a great day for America. It’s a great day for our fantastic partnership. But I believe it’s also a great day for peace.

I want to thank Jared, Jason and David for your tireless efforts to advance peace, and for your tireless efforts to advance the truth. The truth and peace are interconnected. A peace that is built on lies will crash on the rocks of Middle Eastern reality. You can only build peace on truth, and the truth is that Jerusalem has been and will always be the capital of the Jewish people, the capital of the Jewish state. Truth, peace and justice – as our Supreme Court Justice here. Hanan Melcer, can attest – truth, peace and justice, this is what we have and this is what we believe in.

The prophet, Zechariah, declared over 2,500 years ago, ‘So said the Lord, ‘I will return to Zion and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth.’

May the opening of this embassy in this city spread the truth far and wide, and may the truth advance a lasting peace between Israel and all our neighbors.

G-d bless the United States of America and G-d bless Jerusalem, the eternal, undivided capital of Israel.

Baruch atah A-donai Elokeinu melekh ha’olam shehecheyanu vekiymanu vehigi’anu lazman hazeh [Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion.]”

JERUSALEM EMBASSY OPENING: Ezra, Nechemia, and Our Present Day Return from Babylon

Today’s opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem is far more than just a simple political act, being carried out by a unique president attempting to show he keeps his promises.  It is a recognition that something is happening. This something is the march to a global Redemption, a rectification on international, national, and intranational levels.

No other embassy opening would elicit such a delegation as this one, because whether one is a believer or not in a G-D centered reality, it is unmistakable that we are once again living in momentous times. Redemption does not happen in miracles that are completely revealed, rather through the historical movements and radical decisions of kings and leaders of nations inspired to G-D’s will.  We see this most clearly in the books of Ezra and Nechemia, where it took successive rulers such as Kings Koresh, Daryavesh, and Achashverosh (Cyrus, Darius, and  Xerxes) and so on to aid in G-D’s plan in bringing the Jews back home.  The Temple was not built in an instant, but rather building started and stopped multiple times over the 150 years of the return.

While the Jews often times fell short of their promises to G-D to guard the covenant, it was surprisingly the non-Jewish rulers who exhorted the Jewish leaders to teach their people the ways of G-D.

Today’s embassy opening is an expression of the counterintuitive nature of the Redemption.  We often long for it to happen in an almost other worldly way, but fail to recognize that we are actually living in it at the moment. The Talmud teaches that after the third redemption there will be no other exile and it appears we are already at that moment.  In fact, if the paradigm is played in a parallel manner as the return from Babylon, we have been riding the redemptive wave for quite some time.

It was after all King Artaxerxes of Persia who supported Nechemia in his desire to rebuild Jerusalem. Nechemia, then travelled from Persia, with an armed contingent of Persian soldiers who entered Jerusalem. Despite opposition to the endeavor from the non-Jewish occupiers, Nechemia stood strong and took control of Jerusalem, eventually rebuilding its walls.

Nechemia 6:16: “And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard thereof, that all the nations that were about us feared, and were much cast down in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.”

Along side Nechemia, was Ezra the Scribe who led the redaction of the Bible and returned the Jewish people to the ways of G-D.

Nechemia 8:2: “And Ezra the priest brought the Law before the congregation, both men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

Nechemia 8:3: “And he read therein before the broad place that was before the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and of those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the Law.”

Nechemia 8:5: “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people–for he was above all the people–and when he opened it, all the people stood up.”

Nechemia 8:6: “And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered: ‘Amen, Amen’, with the lifting up of their hands; and they bowed their heads, and fell down before the LORD with their faces to the ground.”

Despite the clear return of the Jewish people to Israel, the world has questioned, pushed back, and attempted to uproot our presense in the Land of our forefathers until “G-D inspired another world leader” to end the doubt. Is it any wonder why the “Palestinians” have no desire to discuss peace?  They like the antagonists to Ezra and Nechemia 2,500 years ago know it is all about Jerusalem. A nation that has come home to fulfill the words of the prophets cannot be uprooted.

Redemption is not a singular event, but rather a Divine flow revealed in clear moments in history.  Trump’s embassy move is a signal that the next stage of the Redemption is now unfolding. To be sure, our antagonists are not going anywhere any time soon, but by declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the Trump administration has weakened the ability of today’s “Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian” from scoffing at our return.

Nechemia said the following to them:  ‘The God of heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build; but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.‘ [Nechemia 2:20]”

Our enemies are beginning to understand that we are living in a similar situation.  We have many challenges ahead, and yet by understanding the greatness of our current time period we can meet them with the same success as we are finding today.

Yesterday was Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day).  The following words spoken by Prime Minister Netanyahu at the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva connect to our national realization that we are in fact home in our capital:

“We promise every day that Jerusalem will not return to the status it had 51 years ago, no longer a torn city, but one connected, united city, not a city with barbed wire and minefields. Not a city with enemy crosses on its walls, but a vibrant city, a faithful vision,” said Netanyahu, who received a standing ovation.

“We are guarding the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, as well as the other sanctuaries of Israel that returned to us in the miraculous Six Day War, headed by Rachel’s Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarchs. These places are our roots, they contain the point of truth of our right to live as a free nation in its homeland,” he continued.

“What is Jerusalem for us? It’s not just a physical and tangible place. Jerusalem is the source of the faith and hope that strengthened us in difficult times. In the shadow of the Inquisition, the pogroms, the ghettos, in the camps we said one sentence: Next year in Jerusalem.

“We returned to Jerusalem and we are building it, all of it, and even when there was no progress on the horizon, we stuck to the dream, and today the IDF soldiers are standing at the foot of the Western Wall, declaring allegiance to our army and our country. We returned home and we are determined to keep our home forever.”

It is important to note that today is Hebron Day, commemorating the liberation of Hebron one day after Israel returned to Jerusalem. Our Patriarchs and Matriarchs lie “slumbering” in the Ma’arat HaMachpela.  Our roots are the key to our future. It is our connection to our past that enabled us to recognize that our return is not just a mere product historical outcomes, but rather a Divine decree now being carried out in reality.

As the days of the Mashiach draw near, our understanding that we are living in moments that are unforgettable can never be forgotten. President Trump’s embassy move is a recognition that we are now experiencing the words of the prophets spoken over 2,500 years ago.

 

 

 

 

BIBI NETANYAHU: “Jerusalem above and Jerusalem below, we are bound to this city.”

There are moments where one realizes they are living through momentous times.  The remarks below by Prime Minister Netanyahu at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting expresses this realization in both physical and spiritual terms.

“This week we will be blessed with a truly historical event and this is the decision of the greatest major power in the world, our friend the United States, to move its embassy here. President Trump promised to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – and did so. He promised to move the American embassy – and is doing so. Of course we will all celebrate this day tomorrow, it is truly a celebration. Afterwards two additional embassies – Guatemala and Paraguay – will come here and others are on the way.

It is not for nothing that we are marking Jerusalem Day today at the Bible Lands Museum. Jerusalem is mentioned in the Bible approximately 650 times. The reason is simple: For over 3,000 years it has been the capital of our people, and only of our people. We dreamed of returning to rebuild it, the city that is joined together – this is exactly what we are doing today. We will make a series of decisions to build up and develop Jerusalem, east and west, north and south, in all directions – to both reveal its past and build its future. I know that there will be difficulties along the way; there have been difficulties for the past 70 years. We have met them since 1949 and up to recent years. We will also meet them in the future.

Jerusalem above and Jerusalem below, we are bound to this city. It is part of our soul, part of our experience, on both our material and spiritual sides.

I am certain that all ministers feel as I do regarding the major evets that are currently taking place. We are honoring the words of the prophet [Joel 4:20], ‘But Judah shall be inhabited forever and Jerusalem from generation to generation’.”