The prime minister also held up the architectural blueprints of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps that bear the signature of Hitler's deputy, Heinrich Himmler. "Are the successive German governments that have kept these documents for posterity all liars?" the premier said. Netanyahu praised world diplomats who walked out of Ahmadinejad's fiery speech to the UN on Wednesday, though he used the speech to assail those who remained seated. "Yesterday the president of Iran stood at this very podium and spewed his anti-Semitic rants," the premier said. "Just a few days earlier he claimed that the Holocaust was a lie." "Do those who listened to Ahmadinejad's speech have no shame, no decency?" the premier said. "Nearly one-third of all Jews at the time perished in the Holocaust," he said. "Nearly every family was affected, including my own." "Perhaps some of you think [Ahmadinejad] and his odious regime only threaten the Jews," Netanyahu continued. "Well, if you think that you are wrong, dead wrong." Netanyahu warned against the dangers posed by Iran, imploring the West to confront the Islamic Republic's "religious fanaticism." "The struggle against Iran pits civilization against barbarism," Netanyahu told the UN. "This Iranian regime is fueled by extreme fundamentalism." "What starts as attacks on Jews always ends up engulfing others," Netanyahu said. "This regime embodies the extremes of Islamic fundamentalism." The premier challenged the world body to prevent Iran from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Israel and the Western powers believe Iran's nuclear program is of a military nature, a charge the Iranians deny. Netanyahu said the progress made in the postwar 20th century could be undone if Iran is permitted to build atomic weapons. "History could be reversed if primitive fanaticism acquires deadly weapons," the premier told the UN. "The jury is still out on the United Nations, and the signs aren`t encouraging." The prime minister also assailed the Goldstone Commission Report which accused Israel of committing war crimes during Operation Cast Lead, the three-week offensive against the Hamas-led Gaza Strip. "Israel has justly defended against terrorism," Netanyahu said. "This report provides a clear-cut bias against Israel." "Rather than condemn terrorism, some at the UN are condemning its victims," Netanyahu said. "It is not easy to fight terrorists firing from schools and mosques." The premier said Israel has gone to "extraordinary" lengths to advance peace in the region, including the unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. "The Gaza disengagement was very painful for Israel," the prime minister said. "Israel withdrew from Gaza because we believed it would achieve peace." Netanyahu took the UN to task for "remaining silent" while Gaza gunmen launched Qassam rockets at Israeli towns and communities in the western Negev. The prime minister said his country wants "genuine, defensive peace" and he praised the late Arab leaders Anwar Sadat and King Hussein of Jordan for their "courage" in forging diplomatic ties with Israel. "Every time an Arab leader truly wanted peace, they got it," Netanyahu said. "If the Palestinians truly want peace, we will make peace." Netanyahu also reiterated an Israeli demand that the Palestinians explicitly recognize Israel as "the state of the Jewish people." "Say yes to a Jewish state," Netanyahu urged the Palestinians. "The Jewish people are not foreign conquerors in the land of Israel." Netanyahu said he recognized that the Palestinians are also desirous of a homeland, and that Israel was committed to living side by side with its Arab neighbors. As a condition for peace, the prime minister said any future Palestinian state must be "effectively demilitarized" so that it would not have the means to threaten Israel. "I said effective because we do not want another Gaza, another south Lebanon, another Iranian-backed terror base threatening Jerusalem," Netanyahu said. "We want peace, and I believe that with goodwill and hard work, such a peace can be achieved." Netanyahu also invoked Winston Churchill in imploring the international community to oppose Iran and the rejectionist groups it supports, including Hamas and Hezbollah. "The question facing the international community is whether it is prepared to confront these forces or just accommodate them," the premier said | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Netanyahu Condemns U.N. for Allowing
Ahmadinejad to Deliver Address
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed astonishment that the United Nations would give Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "legitimacy" just six decades after the Holocaust.
FOXNews.com
Thursday, September 24, 2009
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Holding aloft evidence of Hitler's Final Solution, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday railed against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his denial of the Holocaust and scolded the United Nations for allowing Ahmadinejad to speak during its opening session of the 64th U.N. General Assembly.
Offering detailed reminders of the war that sent 6 million Jews to their deaths in concentration camps and recalling the agreement within the world body to create the Jewish State, Netanyahu took his turn at the dais to express astonishment at what he witnessed a day earlier.
He commended those who boycotted Ahmadinejad's speech, but condemned those who allowed it.
"To those who gave this Holocaust denier a hearing, I say on behalf of my people. ... Have you no shame? Have you no decency?" Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu scolded the United Nations for giving the Iranian president "legitimacy" just six decades after the Holocaust. Ahmadinejad addressed the body Wednesday, and in the run-up to the session repeated his belief that the Holocaust is a myth.
"What a disgrace," Netanyahu said. "What a mockery of the charter of the United Nations."
Netanyahu challenged the international community to step up and prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, but expressed broad disappointment with the United Nations.
He accused the United Nations of remaining silent on attacks on Israelis from Hamas, while blasting the U.N. Human Rights Council for its "twisted standards." The Human Rights Council issued a recent report that condemned Israel for its offensive in the Gaza Strip last January.
"What a travesty," Netanyahu said. "Israel justly defended itself against terror."
He said the latest report presents a test to the international community: "Will you stand with Israel or will you stand with the terrorists?"
Netanyahu drew applause only when he talked about the need for a Palestinian state and when he finished his speech.
The day before, President Obama also drew heavy applause when he declared that "America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements." Obama called for Palestinians to end their "incitement of Israel" as well, but that line did not trigger a response from the audience.
Obama earlier met with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a bid to re-start peace talks. It's unclear how Israel will respond to the U.S. president's firm declaration on the settlements. Netanyahu, while suggesting Israel is open to a temporary freeze on West Bank settlements, told FOX News Tuesday that the settlers need to be extended the "possibility of normal life."
He said the settlers need schools, health clinics and other buildings, and that he believes the issue should come at the end of negotiations -- not the beginning.
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