UNGA 2015: Analysis of PM Netanyahu's Speech

PM Binyamin Netanyahu spoke before the UNGA to express his opposition to the Iranian Deal; to explain Israel's rapprochement to Arab States; to criticise the UN's bias; to kill the illusion that the Israel-US Relations are in need of couple's therapy; and to inspire his People, who elected him against all odds.

The Iranian Threat

"And for those of you who believe that the deal in Vienna will bring a change in Iran’s policy, just
listen to what Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said five days after the nuclear deal was reached: 'Our policies towards the arrogant government of the United States will not change.' The United States, he vowed, will continue to be Iran’s enemy."

The Israeli PM reminded America that it needed to stand by Israel since the Iranian Revolutionary regime is the same that kidnapped 52 Americans and held them hostage for 444 days. The message seems to have been effective since rumour has it the US Military echelon is already working towards sending Israel bunker-buster bombs (among other things), as an expression of support.

"Last week, Major General Salehi, the commander of Iran’s army, proclaimed this: 'We will annihilate Israel for sure.' (…) 'We are glad that we are in the forefront of executing the Supreme Leader’s order to destroy Israel'."

The Israeli PM is basically informing the world that Israel will not stand by as Iran threatens the existence of the Jewish People – and as we have seen yesterday, the Palestinian Cause is related to these threats since '[the spokesman of] the Martyr Abdul-Qader al Husseini Brigades, (..) recently told a Lebanese paper that their funding, training and weapons came straight from Iran “There's always contact between the Palestinian resistance and Hezbollah and Iran (..) This is no longer a secret”.'
At the same time, Bibi Netanyahu hinted at the need for an adjustment to the present Iranian regime.

Regime Adaptations

"But this deal, this deal will treat Iran like a normal country even if it remains a dark theocracy
that conquers its neighbors, sponsors terrorism worldwide and chants 'Death to Israel', 'Death
to America.' Does anyone seriously believe that flooding a radical theocracy with weapons and cash will curb its appetite for aggression?"

This passage bears a hidden message: Israel may accept President Obama's quid pro quo if the end game is to give the Iranian Theocracy enough rope for them to hang themselves.

The Jewish People's Position of Strength

"I’ll say it again: The days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies – those days are over."

This is a copy-paste from last year's speech. (NB: interesting that both President Obama and PM Netanyahu used the same method in their speeches [although the Israeli PM was more subtle] - what does this tell us? It supports our idea that the US-Israel tensions are bread and circus).

"Not being passive also means defending ourselves against those dangers. We have. We are."

Again, Israel promises to defend itself, by itself and for itself, if pushed – remember Operations Opera and Orchard.

"In antiquity, we faced destruction from the ancient empires of Babylon and Rome. (..) Yet the empires of Babylon and Rome are not represented in this hall of nations. Neither is the Thousand Year Reich."

A direct message to the Ayatollahs: if the imperialistic Iran persists on its quest to destroy Israel, either directly or through its proxies, it will face the fate of the Babylon, Roman and German Empires.

"but the nation-state of a people nearly 4,000 years old (..) lives. The people of Israel live. 
עם ישראל חי”

Amen. Iran, and others in the ME, should read their Qoran more carefully: Am Yisrael cannot be destroyed by men. The world has had 2,000 years of persecution, forced exile, enslavement, expulsion, pogroms, a Shoah, and 67 years of Arab terrorism to realise it. It's better to join hands with the Jewish People than to try to annihilate us. Get with the programme.

The Jerusalem Question

"For a hundred generations, the Jewish people dreamed of returning to the Land of Israel. Even in our darkest hours, and we had so many, even in our darkest hours we never gave up hope of rebuilding our eternal capital Jerusalem."

Jerusalem will never be divided. Jerusalem is the Jewish Capital, now and forever. The Jewish People will never accept to give the Holy City up. Moreover, Israel is the only entity that can ensure free access to the city (NB: until 1967, the year Israel reconquered Yerushalaim, Jews and Christians alike were not allowed to worship there).

"A thousand years before the birth of Christianity, more than 1,500 years before the birth of Islam, King David made Jerusalem our capital, and King Solomon built the Temple on that mount."

Then time has come to make the legal case, Israel.

ISIS Threat

"Many in our region know that both Iran and ISIS are our common enemies. And when your enemies fight each other, don’t strengthen either one – weaken both."

A message to the west. But I ask: does Israel have a better idea of how to weaken both at the same time? I ask this because ISIS is strengthened by the very same Arab countries that Israel is working closer with. What to do then?

Message to the BDSers

"Israel is the innovation nation. Israeli knowhow is everywhere. It’s in your computers’ microprocessors and flash drives. It’s in your smartphones, when you send instant messages and navigate your cars. It’s on your farms, when you drip irrigate your crops and keep your grains and produce fresh."

If the BDS movement and the European companies (that like to yield to their pressure) want to boycott Israel, how are they going to disseminate their message if each computer, smartphone, social media network etc used to spread their message contains Israeli technology (contributing thus to the Israeli economic strength)? It goes to show those people's deficiencies in knowledge, understanding and wisdom.

"It’s even on your plate, when you eat the delicious cherry tomato. That too was perfected in Israel, in case you didn’t know."

I didn't know it, actually. And to think Europeans love their cherry-tomatoes...

Special Message

"Yet the dreams of our people, enshrined for eternity by the great prophets of the Bible, those dreams will be fully realized only when there is peace."

"I believe (..) and even though he may terry, I will wait for him on any day that he may come."

Palestinian Lack of Political Will

"(..) despite the best efforts of six Israeli prime ministers – Rabin, Peres, Barak, Sharon, Olmert and myself – the Palestinians have consistently refused to end the conflict and make a final peace with Israel."

As Abba Eban said “the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” and why? Because their goal is one: a One Arab Free-of-Jews State Solution.
(If you wish you can read this article, by David Harris, giving you the timeline of Palestinian rejectionism).

UN Bias

"And the UN, distinguished delegates, should do one more thing. The UN should finally rid itself of the obsessive bashing of Israel. (..) When will the UN finally stop slandering Israel as a threat to peace and actually start helping  Israel advance peace?”

The UN hasn't been very useful in advancing peace between the Arabs and Israel; not when it singles Israel out every time, not when it fails to call on the Arab side to assume responsibility for its crimes (and they commit them everyday while acting as victims), and certainly not when it encourages Mahmoud Abbas and his team to pursue unilateral actions that violate past agreements and UNSC resolutions. The UN is hurting its credibility.

"(..) last year, this Assembly adopted 20 resolutions against Israel and just one resolution about the savage slaughter in Syria. Talk about injustice. Talk about disproportionality. Twenty. Count them. One against Syria."

Indeed, in this case the word “disproportionality” is correctly employed – something that the world fails to do when it tries to delegitimise the Jewish State.

Conclusion: an effective, brilliant, speech (Kudos for the effectiveness of the 45 second-silence). There was something that PM Netanyahu said that caught my attention though: if Palestinians are indeed caching weapons at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jordan may be violating the Peace Agreement with Israel. Moreover, it's illegal to hide weapons in places of worship (civilian objects) because it turns them into a legitimate military target; therefore, Jordan and the Waqf - by supporting the Palestinian war effort – are violating the International Law and perhaps making a declaration of war. This doesn't bode well for Jordan...

(Image Dowloaded from gadebate.un.org)