This bubble burst when the Nazis launched their blitzkrieg on Europe and Africa. The price of illusion and wishful thinking was very steep. By the time the leaders of the West finally acted, their peoples paid a terrible price.
World War II claimed the lives not of 16 million people, the horrific number of victims during World War I, but of 60 million, including one third of our people, who were butchered by the Nazi beast.
Citizens of Israel, my brothers and sisters, Has the world learned the mistakes of the past?
Today we again face clear facts and a tangible threat. Iran calls for our destruction. It is developing nuclear weapons. This is the reason it is building underground bunkers for enriching uranium. This is why it is constructing a heavy water facility to produce plutonium. This is the reason it continues to develop inter- continental ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads which will threaten the entire world.
Today, like then, there are those who dismiss Iran's extreme rhetoric as serving domestic purposes.
Today, like then, there are those who view Iran's nuclear ambitions as the result of the natural will of a proud nation, a will that should be accepted.
And today, like then, those who make such claims are deluding themselves. They are making an historic mistake. Fateful talks are currently being held between Iran and the world powers.
This time too, the truth is evident to all: Iran seeks an agreement that will lift the sanctions and leave it as a nuclear threshold state with the capability to manufacture nuclear weapons within several months at most. Iran wants a deal that will eliminate the sanctions and leave its capabilities intact. A deal which enables Iran to be a nuclear threshold state will bring the entire world to the threshold of an abyss.
I hope that the lessons of the past have been learned, and that the desire to avoid confrontation at any cost will not lead to a deal that will exact a much heavier price in the future. I call on the leaders of the world powers to insist that Iran fully dismantle its capacity to manufacture nuclear weapons, and to persist until this goal is achieved. In any event, the people of Israel stand strong.
Faced with an existential threat, our situation today is entirely different than it was during the Holocaust. Today, we have a sovereign Jewish state. As Prime Minister of Israel, I do not hesitate to speak the truth to the world, even when faced with blind eyes and deaf ears. It is not only my right, it is my duty. I am always mindful of this duty, never more so than on this day, in this place.
On the eve of the Holocaust, some Jews avoided speaking out to the world's nations, fearing that the struggle against Nazism would become "a Jewish problem". Others believed that if they kept silent, the danger would pass. They kept silent, and disaster struck.
Today, we are unafraid to speak the truth to world leaders. As is written in the Bible: "I will speak of your testimonies before kings, and I will not be ashamed... listen, for I will speak the truth." Unlike the Holocaust, when the Jewish people were like a wind-tossed leaf and utterly defenseless, we now have great power to defend ourselves, and it is ready for any mission.
This power rests on the courage and ingenuity of the soldiers of the IDF and the men and women of our security forces. It is this power that enabled us, against all odds, to build the State of Israel. Look at the remarkable achievements we have made in the 66 years of our independence.
All of us - scientists, writers, teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs, employees, artists, farmers - the entire people of Israel, each one in their own field - together we have built a glorious state. The spirit of the people of Israel is sublime, our accomplishments tremendous. Seven decades after the destruction of the Holocaust, the State of Israel is a wonder of the world.
On this day, on behalf of the Jewish people, I say to all those who sought to destroy us, and to all those who still seek to destroy us: You have failed, and you will fail again. The State of Israel is stronger than ever. It is a state that seeks peace with all its neighbors and it pulsates with an iron will to ensure the future of our people.
"The people will arise like a lion cub and raise itself like a lion...and Judea will dwell securely". (Numbers 23:24; Jeremiah 23:6).
