uncharacteristically, almost broke
at this point.
Netanyahu has been accused by
his critics over the years of being
disingenuous, of being a master of
manipulation, of making articulate
presentations with little substance
behind them. In this speech, he did
not sound like he was being manip-
ulative. He sounded like a man
who feels the weight of obligation
to protect the Jewish people from
another genocidal regime. "And as
long as I am prime minister," he
said, "I will never let my people live
in the shadow of annihilation."
It is anyone's guess what the
regime in Tehran will make of
this address. For its part, the U.S.
administration will have heard
almost nothing in it to suggest that
the prime minister is in patient
mode, prepared to heed President
Barack Obama's appeal, delivered in
this same venue on Sunday, to give
a little more time for diplomacy
and sanctions to have their impact.
The audience, certainly, went
away convinced that here is an
Israeli prime minister who not only
reserves the right to protect his
nation as he sees fit, but is getting
very close to acting on that right.
The U.S. intelligence official
who reportedly briefed Udi Segal
lamented that the Israeli public is
unaware of the disaster its leader-
ship is on the point of provoking via
a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
The missiles will rain down in the
thousands, the official purportedly
said, and the death toll will be in the
thousands, too. It is "tantamount to
suicide': the official warned.
Netanyahu on Monday night
powerfully asserted the right of the
Jewish people, for the Jewish state,
to fight if necessary for its survival.
He did not sound suicidal. But
he did sound like a leader who, if
he hasn't completely made up his
mind about how and when to act in
order to thwart Iran's nuclear drive,
is on the point of taking precisely
such a decision.
"There's been a lot of talk about
the cost of stopping Iran," he said
in one of the speech's most telling
passages."It's about time we started
talking about the cost of not stop-
ping Iran." E
AKIV1 HEBREW DAY SCHOOL
cordially invites you to attend our
Hors d'oeuvres / dinner 5:00 pm
Program 6:00 pm
Patron Afterglow 7:30 pm
with Nolan Finley and
Adam Gardin
Honoring
am
Alumnus of the Year
Akiva Class of '98
David Horovitz is founding editor of
the Times of Israel, an online newspa-
per based in Jerusalem. He is former
editor of the Jerusalem Post and the
Convert $180 per person
Nolan Finley
Keter Shem Tov Award
Editorial Editor Detroit News
Hyatt Regency, Dearborn
600 Town Center Drive
Dearborn, MI 48126
Jerusalem Report.
See C011iributing Editor Robert
Sklar's commentary on page 31.
To make your reservations, contact Sidney Katz
248.386.1625 ext. 231 or by fax 248.386.1632
March 8 • 2 012
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