Prime Minister Bennett addressed the UN General Assembly this afternoon (Monday). This is his first political speech from the rostrum.
From the United Nations YouTube channel
In his speech, Bennett said: "Distinguished Representatives, Israel is a beacon in the heart of a stormy sea. A torch of democracy, deliberately diverse, innovative in nature and determined to contribute to the world, despite being in the toughest neighborhood on earth. We are an ancient nation. We returned to our ancient homeland. "In our ancient language. We have restored our ancient sovereignty. Israel is a miracle of Jewish revival. The people of Israel are alive and the State of Israel is its beating heart. For too long, Israel has been defined by wars with our neighbors."
"But this is not the essence of the State of Israel. This is not the essence of the people of Israel. Israelis do not wake up in the morning thinking about the conflict. Israelis want to live a good life, care for our families and build a better world for our children. This means that from time to time "Our jobs, to say goodbye to our families and rush to the battlefield to defend our country, just as my friends and I were required to do. They should not be judged for that. Israelis remember the dark horrors of our past but are determined to look to the future, to build a better future."
Bennett added: "Dear representatives, there are two epidemics that are endangering the fabric of society at the moment. One is the corona virus, which has killed more than five million people worldwide. The other is also undermining the world as we know it and is the political polarization disease. "They can erode the public's trust in our institutions. Both can paralyze countries. If left untreated, their effects on society can be devastating."
Corona test, Photo: Gideon Markovich
In Israel, we have dealt with these two epidemics.
Instead of accepting them as a kind of force of nature - we stood up, took action and we already see the horizon.
In a polarized world where algorithms fuel our anger, people on the right and left operate in two separate realities, each group in its own social network bubble, where they hear only the same voices that confirm what they already believe in. "
"This leads to people developing feelings of hatred towards each other and societies being torn to pieces. Countries that are broken from within have no future. In Israel, after four elections in two years and the possibility of another election for the fifth time, the people have some peace: calm, stability. True experience of political normalcy."
Perseverance is always the easiest choice.
However, there are moments when leaders must hold the helm a moment before the abyss, face criticism and drive the country to a safe shore.
About a hundred days ago, my partners and I formed a new government in Israel.
This is the most diverse government in our history.
"What started as a political mistake can now become a goal, and that goal is unity."
Bennett approaches speech at UN, Photo: AFP
Today we sit together around the table.
We talk to each other respectfully, treat each other fairly and carry a message: things can go differently.
It is possible to disagree.
It's okay, in fact it's essential, that different people think differently.
It's even okay to argue.
Because a healthy debate is a fundamental principle in the Jewish tradition and one of the secrets of the success of the start-up nation.
We have proven that even in the age of social networks, it is possible to argue without hating. "
"The state must remain open"
On the Corona struggle, Bennett said: "We have developed a model that combines the wisdom of science with the power of policy-making. The Israeli model has three guiding principles: First, the state must remain open. We all paid a huge price - economic price, physical price and emotional price." "To make economies thrive again, returning children to schools and parents to work, closures, restrictions and isolations will not be able to work in the long run. Our model mobilizes people for effort instead of holding them in a passive state of dormancy."
"For example, we asked Israeli families to do home tests for their children so that we could open the schools and indeed, the schools remained open."
Ten-year-old Rotem performs a home antigen test to detect corona the day before the start of the school year, Photo: Ami Shumen
"The second rule - we were vaccinated early. From the beginning, Israelis were quick to get vaccinated. We are in a race against a deadly virus and we must try to get ahead of it. In July, we were the first to learn that vaccines are fading "The third vaccine, the booster, for the Israeli public. It was a difficult decision, given that at the time it had not yet been approved by the FDA."
"We were faced with a choice between dragging Israel into another round of closures, causing further damage to our economy and society or focusing on vaccines. We chose the second option. We were the pioneers in providing the booster dose. After two months, I can report it works. With a third dose, you are seven times more protected than. "With two doses and forty times more protection than those who have not been vaccinated at all. As a result, Israel is on track to cross the fourth wave without closure, without further damage to our economy. Israel's economy is growing and unemployment is falling. .
Barrier Enforcement Checkpoint in Jerusalem // Photo: Oren Ben Hakon,
"The third rule - adapt and act quickly. We have set up a national task force that meets every day to get around a messy government bureaucracy, make quick decisions and implement them immediately. Trial and error is the key. Every day is a new day that brings new information and decisions. When something works we keep doing it "When something does not work, we abandon it."
"Running a country during an epidemic is not just a matter of health. It is a matter of a delicate balance between all aspects of life affected by the corona, especially employment and education. The only person who has a good vantage point for this thing is the national leader of each country. Above all, we do "Everything we can to provide people with the tools they need to protect their lives."
"Everyone wants to destroy Israel"
"Dear representatives, while Israel strives to do good, we must be vigilant at all times about what is happening in our neighborhood. Israel, literally, is surrounded by Hezbollah, Shiite militias, Islamic Jihad and Hamas. These terrorist organizations seek to control the Middle East and spread radical Islam. around the world".
"What do they all have in common? Everyone wants to destroy my country and they are all supported by Iran. They get funding, training and weapons from Iran. Iran's big goal is completely clear to anyone with its eyes open: Iran strives to control the region and it seeks to do so under a nuclear umbrella. "For the past three decades, Iran has spread bloodshed and destruction throughout the Middle East, country by country: Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Gaza."
Hezbollah fighters, Photo: AFP
"What do all these places have in common? They are all falling apart. Their citizens are hungry and suffering. Their economies are collapsing. Like Midas' touch, the Iranian regime has the full touch. Everywhere Iran touches it, it fails. If you think Iran's terrorism is limited Only for Israel - you are wrong. Only this year, Iran has started operating a new lethal terrorist unit - swarms of lethal UAVs armed with lethal weapons that can attack anywhere and anytime.
They plan to cover the skies of the Middle East with this deadly force. "
"The Butcher from Tehran"
Distinguished Representatives, In 1988, Iran set up a "death commission" that ordered the mass murder of 5,000 political activists.
They hung on cranes.
This "death committee" was made up of four people - Ibrahim Raisi, the new president of Iran, was one of them.
Raisi also supervised the murder of Iranian children.
His nickname is "The Executioner from Tehran" because that is exactly what he did - massacre his own people.
"The executioner from Tehran" Ibrahim Raisi, Photo: AFP
One of the witnesses to this massacre said in her testimony that when Raisi would end a round of murders he would hold a party, take into his own pocket the money of those he had just killed ... and then he would sit down to eat cream cakes.
He celebrated the murder of his own people by devouring cream cakes.
And now Raisi is the new president of Iran.
This is the person we are dealing with. "
“In recent years, Iran has soared forward in its nuclear R&D, in its production and enrichment capabilities.
Iran's nuclear program is at a critical point.
Red lines were crossed.
Ignoring supervision.
False hopes have been proven false.
"Iran is violating IAEA defense agreements and evading punishment. They are harassing inspectors and terrorists in their investigations - and they are evading punishment. They are enriching pines to a level of 60%, which is one step from material in the rank of weapons - and they are evading punishment."
Iranian centrifuges at uranium enrichment facility, Photo: E.
P.I.
There is evidence that clearly proves Iran's intention to produce nuclear weapons at secret sites in Turquoise, Tehran and Mariban, but ignores them.
Iran's nuclear program has reached a watershed and so has our tolerance.
Words do not stop the rotation of the centrifuges. "
There are those in the world who seem to see Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons as an inevitable reality, or are simply tired of hearing about it.
Israel does not have this luxury.
We will not get tired.
We will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.
I want to tell you something: Iran is much weaker and more vulnerable than it seems.
Its economy is sinking, its regime is rotten and detached from the younger generation, the corrupt government is failing even to supply water to large parts of the country.
The weaker they become, the more extreme they become.
If we try to think together, if we're serious about stopping this thing, if we use all our resourcefulness, we can win.
And that is what we will do. "
"Many countries recognize the value of Israel"
"Iran has already used these deadly UAVs, called Shahad-136, to attack Saudi Arabia, American targets in Iraq and civilian ships at sea, killing a British citizen and a Romanian citizen.
Iran plans to arm its branches in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon with hundreds and then thousands of such deadly drones.
Experience shows us that what begins in the Middle East does not end there. "
But not everything is black in the Middle East.
Alongside worrying trends, there are also rays of light.
First and foremost, the growing ties that Israel is forming with Arab and Muslim countries.
Ties that began 42 years ago with Israel's historic peace agreement with Egypt, which continued 27 years ago with Israel's and Jordan's peace agreement, and more recently with the 'Abraham Agreements' that normalized relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
There will be more.
Signing of the "Abraham Agreements", Photo: Avi Ohayon - GPO
At the young and mature age of 73, more and more countries are realizing the value of Israel and its special place in the world.
There are friends who have stood by our side from the beginning.
The United States is a trusted and longtime friend of Israel, as we saw once again a few days ago in Congress.
Along with our old friends, we are acquiring new friends in the Middle East and beyond.
Last week this was proved by the failure of the racist and antisemitic Durban Conference.
Originally this conference was supposed to be against racism, but over the years it has become a conference of racism - against Israel and the Jewish people.
And never tired.
I thank the 38 countries (38!) That really chose over the lies and did not attend the conference.
And to those countries that have chosen to participate in this farce, I say: attacking Israel does not make you more moral;
Fighting for the only democracy in the Middle East does not make you enlightened;
Adopting clichés about Israel without making an effort to learn the basic facts ... well, that's just laziness in its name.
Every member state of this institution has a choice.
This is not a political choice but a moral one.
It is a choice between darkness and light.
A darkness that haunts political prisoners, kills innocent people, abuses women and minorities and seeks to destroy the modern world as we know it, and a light that strives for freedom, prosperity and opportunity.
Mets Independence Day, 2019 // Photo: Coco,
Over the past 73 years, the State of Israel, the people of Israel, have achieved so much time that they have had to deal with so much.
Despite this I can say with complete confidence: the best days are yet to come.
Israel is a nation of great hope, a nation that has brought the Torah tradition to life in modern Israel, a nation of unbreakable spirit.
A little of the light repels much of the darkness.
The lighthouse in the heart of the stormy sea is carried upwards, it stands strong and its light shines brighter than ever.
Thank you".
Meeting with Bahrain's Foreign Minister
Even before the speech at the General Assembly, Bennett met with Bahrain's Foreign Minister and Minister of State in the United Arab Emirates' Foreign Ministry.
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations and the United States, Gilad Ardan, said this morning (Monday) in an interview with the GLC that the international community, including the United States, is "talking to us about Plan B on the Iranian issue, what happens if Iran does not return to the nuclear agreement." The community estimated that 80 percent of Iran would return to the agreement, today it has dropped to 20 percent. "
"I am so happy to meet with you," the Prime Minister told the ministers at the beginning of the meeting.
