Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday drew a parallel between the Holocaust and modern-day threats faced by Israel ,stressing the importance of standing guard against regional risks.
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The prime minister, who made the remarks as the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day, emphasized that anti-Jewish sentiments are alive and kicking.
Netanyahu last week (Photo: Reuters)
"Anti-Semitism hasn't disappeared and the desire to destroy Israel persists," he said.
"The Holocaust is being denied by a major country. This nation's leaders have denied the Holocaust at the podium at the United Nations and on other stages, while plotting what they perceive to be another Holocaust – one that would eliminate the Jewish state," he continued, referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 'sGeneral Assembly speeches.
"They do not stop the unending race towards an atomic weapon that would serve this purpose. We will prevent these threats (from materializing.) This is our first task as a government and a nation."
Netanyahu asserted that while anti-Semitism has remained as prevalent as ever, Jews have grown capable of defending themselves since the Holocaust.
Chemical weapons a concern. Syrian solider (Photo: EPA)
The leader, who has been re-elected for another term as prime minister last week, further vowed to form the "broadest coalition possible" to better address these defense challenges.
During Sunday's meeting, Minister Silvan Shalom expressed concern that chemical weapons could be transferred from Syria to neighboring Lebanon, where they could fall into Hezbollah 'shands.
"We have been tracking this possibility for a while … There has been cooperation between Israel and world powers on this matter," he said. "This kind of occurrence must be prevented."