Netanyahu: Without Israel, Iran would have nuclear weapons
“Jerusalem is a united city,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “As long as I have anything to do with it, it will never be divided again. Ever.”
By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMANPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the kick-off event of the Christian Media Summit and the inauguration of the Friends of Zion Museum’s media center.(photo credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is committed to keeping Iran from entrenching itself militarily on its borders and that were it not for Israel, Tehran would already possess nuclear weapons.“We have one main goal and that is to make sure that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons and that its march toward an empire and conquest has stopped,” Netanyahu told a crowd of more than 200 people at the kick-off event of the Christian Media Summit and the inauguration of the Friends of Zion Museum’s media center. Netanyahu hung a mezuzah on the door of the center at the start of the ceremony.He noted that President Donald Trump’s “maximum economic pressure on Iran” is having an effect. “We can see that,” he said, adding that “If Israel was not here, Iran would already have nuclear weapons.”The Christian Media Summit, sponsored by the Government Press Office, is a four-day summit of 150 people from 30 countries – Christian evangelicals that the government hopes to turn into a cadre of strong, pro-Israel ambassadors for the Jewish state.As such, the prime minister leveraged the evening to drive home the message of a united Jerusalem.“Jerusalem is a united city,” he said. “As long as I have anything to do with it, it will never be divided again. Ever.”He used the platform as a campaign event, too. Touting his close relationships with Middle East leaders, who he said, “no longer perceive Israel as an enemy,” but are working together with the Jewish state to combat militant Islam. He noted that through this strategic military cooperation, the countries are coming closer economically, as well. Eventually, he claimed, this could bring peace in the Middle East.“There is a clear shift, and this is important for peace,” Netanyahu said. “This is the way that peace will ultimately be achieved.”Mike Evans, the founder of Friends of Zion and of Trump’s evangelical advisory committee, said he supported the prime minister, too. In his speech at the opening of the ceremony, he said he hopes that Netanyahu will be able to use the media center in the future as prime minister.“I dearly love this man,” he told the crowd. He also said that it is not only Trump who “trusts Benjamin Netanyahu,” but that many leaders in the Middle East whom he visits with, from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to King Abdullah II of Jordan, ask about the prime minister.“The trust factor is important,” he said.Then he used the platform to hint that there may be more surprises for Netanyahu and the Jewish state from Trump in the near future.“I cannot say anything, so I didn’t say anything, but don’t be surprised if there is a surprise coming soon for Israel from him,” Evans said, announcing a new “Trump exhibition” at the museum.“Evangelicals don’t want Judea and Samaria sacrificed for pettiness,” he continued, cautioning that “there is no guarantee you will have [such support] after November.”During his speech, Evans also announced a new “Ambassador’s Institute” that will train 100,000 Christians to be ambassadors for Israel in their own country, “to defend Israel’s brand and to combat antisemitism.” He announced the creation of FOZi, an online academy to virtually train tens of millions of evangelicals, the first evangelical think tank and the first evangelical research center.Also in attendance were US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion.
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