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Excerpts from PM Netanyahu's Remarks to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

Events and Speeches
The 37th Government
16.02.2025

Following are excerpts from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks, this evening to the Conference of Major American Jewish Organizations:

"Within a year and some months, the courage of our soldiers, the stalwart position of our people and the decisions that we made turned things around. We decimated much of Hamas. We haven't finished the job, we will. Israel will destroy Hamas' military and governing capabilities; Gaza will look differently."

"We changed the Middle East. Now comes President Trump, and Secretary Rubio, who's a great friend of Israel as well. I've seen him over the years, and we had a great discussion today. And we talked about how do we complete the change in the Middle East? We have the greatest friend of Israel in the White House now. We have, we see eye to eye on the main tasks that we have to accomplish, and we're in a position to change the Middle East and give Israel the kind of horizon, the kind of hope, the kind of security and the kind of peace that would have been unimaginable, and in fact was unimaginable from the day of the founding of the State of Israel.

We've had great victories in the past. The most important one was the Six Day War. But the possibilities that loom today before us have never been before us before. They have never been available to us as they are now.

Now, we intend to pursue them to the full. We see eye to eye with the US administration, President Trump and his administration, first of all on accomplishing the immediate three goals that we have in Gaza. One is to achieve the release of all our hostages. The second, as I said, is to destroy Hamas. The third is to ensure that Gaza has a different future, that we don't just go back, same old same old same old. And there I have to say that President Trump has presented a bold new vision and the only plan that I think can work to enable a different future for the people of Gaza, for the people of Israel, for the surrounding areas.

Why not give Gazans a choice? Everybody said this is the largest open-air prison in the world. Not because of us. We let people leave. In fact, if you want to know, over the last couple of years, two years I think, 150,000 Gazans left. You know how they left? Because they bribed their way out, not through us. They bribed their way out. The rich could leave, but if other people wanted to leave, give them a choice, not forcible eviction, not ethnic cleansing. In a war zone people leave.

We tried to get the population to leave, to get them out of harm's way, and Hamas, with rifles, with gunfire, tried to prevent them from leaving. So we moved them around so that they would get out of harm's way. But if people want to leave, if they want to emigrate, it's their choice. And I think President Trump's plan is right on the dot."

At the conclusion of his remarks, the Prime Minister said:

"I think today everybody recognizes that Israel has never been as strong as it is now. The American-Israeli alliance has never been as strong as it is now, and the Jewish people have never been as strong as they are now. That strength is based on our partnership, it's based on the resolve of our people, it's based on the believe in our great traditions, it's based on our faith, in our past and in the future as well. And I think that together, the greatest days are still before us.

So I hope that next time that we meet, come back next year, you'll see the difference, even greater differences than you see now. I look forward to your next 50 years. Thank you. Thank you, friends."