Netanyahu Thanks Israelis for Steadfastness, Spirit in War

Thank you for standing firm, thank you for your responsibility, thank you for obeying the Home Front Command’s instructions, thank you for the great embrace you are giving to the IDF soldiers, both regular and reserve, and thanks to the soldiers’ families, the wounded, the evacuees, the volunteers, and every citizen who bears these days of conflict with faith, with steadfastness, and with inspiring strength of spirit. In these days, the people of Israel are once again revealing the secret of their strength. Not only on the battlefield, but also on the home front. Not only in firepower, but also in strength of spirit. There are nations that break under threat, there are countries that collapse in the face of fear, but the Jewish people, precisely in times of trial, stand up, unite, and rise above. This has been the case throughout the generations, and so it is today. Out of the pain, out of the worry, out of the heavy price, that ancient and unconquerable spirit of our people once again emerges. In the days of the war, I think a lot about my father, Professor Ben-Zion Netanyahu, may he rest in peace. He taught me a great lesson that has never left me: great dangers do not begin at the moment they erupt with full force. They begin much earlier, with murderous ideas, with an ideology of hatred, with overt threats, and with the blindness of those who refuse to see reality as it is. Years before the world understood the magnitude of the approaching disaster, my father identified the Nazi danger. He saw what so many refused to see. He understood that when an enemy rises and declares its intention to destroy the Jewish people, one must not dismiss its words, one must not suppress them, and one must not wait until the last moment. This is not just a personal memory. This is a historical lesson, a Jewish lesson. This is also a lesson of leadership. In those days and in this time, forces that sought to annihilate our people stood against us. In those days, there were those in the world who did not want to see, who did not want to believe, and who did not act in time. And in this time, we too have stood against a fanatical and murderous regime in Iran, a regime that has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel, built a regional terror machine, and sought to acquire the means to realize its intentions. We chose differently. We chose not to close our eyes. We chose not to surrender to illusions. We chose not to abandon our future. Because the peace of Israel cannot be built on wishful thinking, and the security of Israel cannot be entrusted to those who seek our lives. We base our security on strength, on determination, and on the willingness to act in time. Therefore, we acted with all our might. Therefore, we stood like an impenetrable wall. And therefore, even today, together with my friend President Trump, together with our ally the United States, together with our heroic fighters, and together with the entire people of Israel, we are determined to crush the existential threat from Iran into dust. Indeed, we have already achieved the great change: Israel is stronger than ever, Iran’s terror regime is weaker than ever. This is not just a struggle for our present security. This is a struggle for our future, for our existence, and for our right to live here, in our land, in security and freedom. The days of Passover remind us that freedom was not given to us as a gift. It was bought with struggle, with faith, with steadfastness, and with the willingness to pay a price for the future of our people. This was the case in the Exodus from Egypt, this was the case in many generations of exile and persecution, and so it is in our generation. In every generation, they rise against us to destroy us, and in every generation, the people of Israel prove anew that they do not break, that they do not surrender, and that they know how to stand against any threat and repel it. This Shabbat, during the days of the Festival of Freedom, I am full of faith. Faith in our fighters. Faith in the righteousness of our path. Faith in God Almighty. Faith in our wonderful people. Faith that out of these difficult days, we will emerge stronger, more united, and more secure. I wish you a Shabbat Shalom, joyous holidays, and a kosher and happy Passover. May we know days of true freedom, days of security, days of unity, days of victory, and good tidings for all the House of Israel.