As Netanyahu stepped behind the podium, the assembly hall was immediately divided. Delegates stood to their feet, many to stage a walkout, and others to enthusiastically cheer, applauding the Israeli Prime Minister as the announcer called the hall to order.
Coming at a time when world leaders are unilaterally recognizing a non-existent “Palestinian State,” a blatantly anti-Israel move that Netanyahu referred to as “gutless,” the Israeli leader centered his speech around a verse from the Bible encapsulating the absurdity unfolding at the United Nations.
“As the prophets of Israel foretold in the Bible, you’ve turned good into evil and evil into good,” Netanyahu exclaimed, referring to Isaiah 5:20.
“I say to the representatives of those nations, this is not an indictment of Israel. It’s an indictment of you,” he underscored. “It’s an indictment of weak-kneed leaders who appease evil rather than support a nation whose brave soldiers guard you from the barbarians at the gate.”
“Israel will not allow you to shove a terrorist state down our throats,” Netanyahu asserted. “We will not commit national suicide because you don’t have the guts to face down a hostile media and antisemitic mobs demanding Israel’s blood… Western leaders may have buckled under the pressure, and I guarantee you one thing: Israel won’t.”
The bloody massacre of 1,200 Israelis on October 7th was highlighted by Netanyahu to expose why a Palestinian State would be detrimental to the Jewish State’s existence and also why Israel’s continued fight remains vital.
During his speech, the Prime Minister wore a large button on his lapel bearing a QR code. He urged members to scan the code to be reminded of the atrocities that took place on that monstrous day.
“Much of the world no longer remembers October 7th, but we rememberโIsrael remembers October 7th,” he told delegates. “I’ll tell you, you can remember October 7th, too. You see this large pin here? It’s a QR code. What I ask you to do is hold up your phones, zoom in, and you too will see why we fight and why we must win. It’s all in here.”
The Backwards Thinking Of Leaders
The verse in Isaiah 5:20 continued to ring throughout the speech, as Netanyahu pointed to the backwards thinking of leaders who demonize the Jewish State while ignoring the evils of Hamas.
“The truth has been turned on its head,” Netanyahu underscored. “Hamas [is] a genocidal terrorist organization whose charter calls for the murder of all Jews on the planet. This genocidal organization is given a pass. It’s barely mentioned. While Israel, which does everything it can to get civilians out of harm’s way, is put in the dock.”
“What a joke!” he said. “You want to hear another one?”
“Israel is accused of deliberately starving the people of Gaza when Israel is deliberately feeding the people of Gaza,” Netanyahu noted. “Since the beginning of the war, Israel has led into Gaza more than 2 million tons of food and aid. That’s one ton of aid for every man, woman, and child in Gaza. Nearly 3,000 calories per person per day. Some starvation policy!”
The leader stressed that the false accusations being levied against Israel are deeply antisemiticโthe latest rendition of a very old campaign against Jews.
“Those who peddle the blood libels of genocide and starvation against Israel are no better than those who peddle blood lies against the Jews in the Middle Ages when they falsely accused us of poisoning wells, spreading plague, and using the blood of children to bake Passover matzahs,” Netanyahu insisted. “Antisemitism dies hard. In fact, it doesn’t die at all. It just keeps coming back with its lies refurbished, regurgitated over and over again.”
World leaders are using these false accusations as a jumping-off point to justify a Palestinian state. By doing so, Netanyahu stated that they are sending a clear message to the Hamas terrorists who carried out October 7th: “Murdering Jews pays off.”
“What you’re doing is giving the ultimate reward to intolerant fanatics who perpetrated and supported the October 7th massacre,” he continued. “Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7th is like giving al-Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after September 11th. This is sheer madness. It’s insane. And we won’t do it.”
While many nations initially stood with Israel in the immediate aftermath of October 7th, Netanyahu lamented that strength and common sense didn’t prevail.
“Over time, many world leaders buckled. They buckled under the pressure of a biased media, radical Islamist constituencies, and anti-semitic mobs,” he stated. “There’s a familiar saying, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going.’ Well, for many countries here, when the going got tough, you caved.”
“I have a message for these leaders,” Netanyahu cautioned. “When the most savage terrorists on earth are effusively praising your decision, you didn’t do something right. You did something wrong, horribly wrong. Your disgraceful decision will encourage terrorism against Jews and against innocent people everywhere. It will be a mark of shame on all of you.”
Address Broadcast Live Into Gaza
Hecklers could be heard attempting to disrupt Netanyahu throughout his speech, including as he read aloud the names of hostages remaining in Hamas’ inhumane captivity.
The Prime Minister’s Office, earlier in the day, announced the “unprecedented” step of broadcasting Netanyahu’s address Live into Gaza over loudspeakers through a series of IDF trucks.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to do something I’ve never done before. I want to speak from this forum directly to those hostages through loudspeakers,” he declared. “I’ve surrounded Gaza with massive loudspeakers connected to this microphone in the hope that our dear hostages will hear my message. And I’ll say it first in Hebrew and then in English.”
“Our brave heroes, this is Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking to you live from the United Nations,” he told the hostages. “We have not forgotten you, not even for a second. The people of Israel are with you. We will not falter, and we will not rest until we bring all of you home.”
The Prime Minister didn’t stop there, announcing that, through the use of Israeli intelligence, his speech was also being broadcast live to the cellphones of Gazans:
“So to the remaining Hamas leaders and to the jailers of our hostages, I now say: Lay down your arms. Let my people go!” he warned. “Free the hostages. All of them. The whole 48. Free the hostages now. If you do, you will live. If you don’t, Israel will hunt you down.”
The Prime Minister detailed Israel’s effective dismantling of the Iranian terror axis in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Tehran, pointing to sophisticated operations targeting terrorists, weaponry, and leaders.
“We paged Hezbollahโand believe me, they got the message.”
The Necessity Of Israel
Netanyahu emphasized the necessity of the nation of Israel for the Jewish People, who for thousands of years lived in the crosshairs of persecution and threats of extermination.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the horrors that happened on one dark day, October 7th, those horrors happened countless times during the centuries of my people’s exiles among the nations,” he detailed. “Jewish blood was cheap. Jews were killed with impunity. We had to beg others to defend us. The rise of Israel did not mean that the attempts to destroy us would end. It meant that we could fight back against those attempts. And that is exactly what Israel has done since October 7th.”
“Our sons and daughters fought like lions,” Netanyahu told the audience. “Our brave soldiers dawned their uniforms and rushed into battle. They were armed with the dreams of the hundred generations of Jews who came before them. The dream of living as a free people in the land of Israel, our beloved homeland for more than 3,000 years. The dreams of living in our own independent state. The dream of having an army to defend ourselves. And the dream of being a light unto the nations, a beacon of progress, ingenuity, innovation for the benefit of all humanity.”
“On October 7th, the enemies of Israel tried to extinguish that light,” he underscored. “Two years later, the resolve of Israel and the strength of Israel burned brighter than ever. With God’s help, that strength and that resolve would lead us to a speedy victory and to a brilliant future of prosperity and peace.”
