On Allied victory anniversary, Olmert equates Nazi regime, Iranian threat.
By JPOST.COM STAFFolmert 298(photo credit: AP)
The Holocaust is a reminder to act against threats to humanity, such as Iran, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said during a special Knesset session on the anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany.
"Even today evil, racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism are threatening the well-being and future of humanity," Olmert said. "This is the reason why today the world is making a serious effort to prevent evil countries such as Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons."
In addition, the prime minister acknowledged Israel's neglect of Holocaust survivors, and said that efforts were being made to improve their situation.
"On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, I stated the government's stance on this issue," Olmert said. "The government has instructed the welfare and social affairs minister to push the matter…and to submit recommendations for resolving the problem of Holocaust survivors' living standards in Israel" in the upcoming days.
Opposition leader MK Binyamin Netanyahu also took the opportunity to mix politics with historical awareness as he praised World War II veterans of the Soviet army.
"We are here thanks to you, because, as a part of the Red Army, you defeated the German armies, and had this defeat not taken place then the Jewish people would have been destroyed," Netanyahu said.
"The lesson we have learned is that, in order to prevent another Holocaust we must not only outfit ourselves with your bravery and your sacrifice, but also with a leadership that will recognize the danger, warn us of it and repel it before it is to late."
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