“We were here in this country for thousands of years before the Ayatollahs took the Iranian people hostage, and we will be here long after their theocratic tyranny becomes a footnote in history,” Netanyahu stated.
Israel will live on long after Iran’s theocracy has disappeared, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told thousands of Jews during Birthright-Israel’s annual Mega Event in Rishon Letzion on Sunday night.
“Maybe the Iranians need to learn Jewish history, since last week in Tehran they set up a digital clock counting down the time to Israel’s destruction” said Netanyahu.
“We were here in this country for thousands of years before the Ayatollahs took the Iranian people hostage, and we will be here long after their theocratic tyranny becomes a footnote in history,” the prime minister underscored.
Last week, Iranians burned Israeli and American flags and unveiled an “Israel Doomsday Clock” in Tehran’s Palestinian Square during festivities marking al-Quds Day. The clock predicts Israel’s demise by 2040; the date refers to a September 2015 speech by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asserting that Israel will “not see the end of these 25 years.”
Netanyahu said that Israel is a strong country with the ability and willingness to defend itself from threats as well as to reach out in peace to those who wish for it.
Students could hold their heads high while expressing their support for Israel, he added. “When they attack us, stand proud and say whose side you are on: The free people of Israel or those chopping off heads? If you stand for the free, stand for Israel, stand for the truth.”
Furthermore, “By coming here, you join Israeli soldiers in helping secure Israel’s future,” said Netanyahu. “I want you to take everything that you see and share it with others, tell others about the miracle of Israel, this rare and thriving democracy in the Middle East.”
In 2017, Birthright Israel is hosting 33,000 first-time visitors to Israel between the ages of 18 and 26, from 33 countries. Participants during the summer season will take a free 10-day educational tour.
The program has brought 600,000 young Jewish men and women to Israel since its inception a decade ago. Birthright-Israel International CEO Gidi Mark explains that the encounter between young Jewish adults and IDF soldiers allows for unmediated interface between the two groups and contributes to a mutual strengthening of Jewish identity and commitment to Israel.
By: TPS
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