Speaking to AIPAC a day before his controversial and widely-anticipated speech to US Congress, Netanyahu warned against a nuclear Iran, emphasized strong US-Israel ties and stressed that the Jewish people are no longer helpless. 

In a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Monday morning – a day ahead of his controversial address at the US Congress on Tuesday afternoon – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that Israeli-US ties remain solid. “Disagreements in the family are always uncomfortable, but we must remember we are family,” he declared. “We disagree on the best way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons,” the Israeli leader said. “Despite occasional disagreements the friendship between America and Israel grew stronger and stronger, decade after decade, and our friendship will weather the current disagreement as well to grow even stronger in the future.”

Israel and America ‘Share the Same Dreams’

“And I’ll tell you why – because we share the same dreams. Because we pray, hope and aspire for a better world.” As the Middle East “descends into medieval barbarism, Israel is the one that maintains these values common to us and to you,” Netanyahu asserted. He stressed that his Congressional speech, which was opposed by the Obama administration, was “not meant to show any disrespect for President (Barack) Obama or for the office that he holds, I have great respect for both.”

Neither does he want to make support for Israel into a partisan issue. Pointing to Iran’s support for terrorist organizations and its stated goal to destroy the Jewish state, he asked the crowd to “imagine what Iran will do with nuclear weapons.”

Jews No Longer Defenseless

“For 2,000 years my people, the Jewish people, were stateless, defenseless, voiceless,” Netanyahu continued. “We suffered relentless persecution and horrific attacks…and we could not defend ourselves. Well, no more! No more! The days when the Jewish people are passive in the face of threats to annihilate us, those days are over!” Meanwhile, according to the annual Gallup World Affairs poll, conducted Feb. 8-11, nearly twice as many Americans view Netanyahu favorably than unfavorably (45 vs. 24 percent). By: United with Israel Staff http://youtu.be/u_s7Vnb35eI