In the battle against antisemitism, ‘If we fight, we win,’ Netanyahu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Monday that antisemitism has reemerged as a global threat and urged governments to confront it as an assault on “our common civilization,” speaking at the Second International Conference on Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem.

“Antisemitism is pure evil,” Netanyahu said, calling it “humanity’s problem” rather than only a Jewish one. Citing the wave of antisemitic incidents following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, he said the “virus spread throughout the world,” likening it to the rise of Nazism in prewar Europe.

Netanyahu praised Israel’s military for rescuing the last hostage, proclaiming that “there are no more hostages in Gaza” after the recovery of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili’s body was confirmed earlier Monday, and credited both Israeli forces and “President Trump’s help” for returning all of the captives.

He contrasted today’s resilient Israel with Jewish powerlessness in past centuries, stating, “They can vilify us, but they can’t destroy us.”

The premier also warned of an ideological alliance between “radical Islam and ultra-anti-Western progressives” that seeks to “destroy the West as we know it.” He urged the West to defend itself not just militarily but ideologically on social media, calling it the “new battlefield.”

Appealing directly to Jewish students facing harassment in the Diaspora, Netanyahu said: “Don’t be afraid, don’t cower, don’t bow your head. Speak up, stand up, fight back!”

He closed with what he called the guiding lesson of the Jewish people: “If we fight, we win—and we shall win.”

The conference, dedicated to confronting Jew-hatred and Holocaust denial, kicked off on Monday morning.

International policymakers, parliamentarians, academics and media professionals are there to discuss the core issues of the problem.

Held at the capital’s International Convention Center, aka Binyanei HaUma, the two-day conference is being led by Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli.

The event was scheduled around International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is marked on Jan. 27.

Netanyahu also acknowledged U.S. Justice Department senior counsel Leo Terrell, the head of the department’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, who was being honored by the Israeli government with its annual Award of Honor for the Fight Against Antisemitism at the gala.

Calling Terrell a “special friend,” Netanyahu addressed him directly. “Leo, it’s wonderful to see you again. We know your passion. We know that you are doing everything you can to move under President Trump’s directive to fight antisemitism, which is dangerous to America, dangerous to our free world, dangerous to our common civilization. Thank you, Leo.”

Earlier on Monday, Terrell spoke at the International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.

“I will always say yes. I will always say yes to fighting antisemitism and you should say yes,” Terrell said.

Noting that this was his first trip to Israel, he added, “I love it. You feel something. You know something is real. This spiritual moral compass is here. And we all have to do more, ‘cause this hate cannot destroy our society and we have an obligation to make sure there are young people, our kids who are in K to 12, our future leaders, have a society and a world that they can participate in and enjoy.”