ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BINYAMIN NETANYAHU DELIVERS REMARKS
TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS
MAY 24, 2011
SPEAKER: ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Vice President Biden, Speaker Boehner, distinguished senators, members of the House, honored guests, I’m deeply moved by this warm welcome. And I’m deeply honored that you’ve given me the opportunity to address Congress a second time.
Mr. Vice President, do you remember the time that we were the new kids in town?
And I do see a lot of old friends here, and I see a lot of new friends of Israel here, as well -- Democrats and Republicans alike.
Israel has no better friend than America, and America has no better friend than Israel.
We stand together to defend democracy. We stand together to advance peace. We stand together to fight terrorism.
Congratulations, America. Congratulations, Mr. President. You got bin Laden. Good riddance.
In an unstable Middle East, Israel is the one anchor of stability. In a region of shifting alliances, Israel is America’s unwavering ally. Israel has always been pro-American. Israel will always be pro-American.
My friends, you don’t have to -- you don’t need to do nation- building in Israel. We’re already built.
You don’t need to export democracy to Israel. We’ve already got it.
And you don’t need to send American troops to Israel. We defend ourselves.
NETANYAHU: You’ve been very generous in giving us tools to do the job of defending Israel on our own. Thank you all, and thank you, President Obama, for your steadfast commitment to Israel’s security.
I know economic times are tough. I deeply appreciate this.
Some of you have been telling me that your belief has been reaffirmed in recent months that support for Israel’s security is a wise investment in our common future, for an epic battle is now under way in the Middle East between tyranny and freedom. A great convulsion is shaking the earth from the Khyber Pass to the Straits of Gibraltar. The tremors have shattered states. They’ve toppled governments. And we can all see that the ground is still shifting.
Now, this historic moment holds the promise of a new dawn of freedom and opportunity. There are millions of young people out there who are determined to change their future. We all look at them. They muster courage. They risk their lives.
They demand dignity. They desire liberty. These extraordinary scenes in Tunis and Cairo evoke those of Berlin and Prague in 1989. Yet, as we share their hopes...
(A protester)
You know, I take it as a badge of honor, and so should you, that in our free societies you can have protests. You can’t have these protests in the farcical parliaments in Tehran or in Tripoli. This is real democracy.
Thank you.
So as we share the hopes of these young people throughout the Middle East and Iran that they’ll be able to do what that young woman just did -- I think she’s young; I couldn’t see quite that far...
... we must also remember that those hopes could be snuffed out, as they were in Tehran in 1979.
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