Israeli Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Monday warned that “Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons is a major threat to our national security interests” and stressed that the Islamic Republic must never be allowed to obtain an atomic bomb.
Speaking at the second annual JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem, Ohana cited remarks to this effect by U.S. President Donald Trump, adding, “I trust that he stands by these words today.”
Ohana also highlighted what he described as major achievements by Israel, in cooperation with the United States, in confronting Tehran and combating Hamas in Gaza.
“The Iranian regime must go, and by God they will go,” he said.
Ohana also sharply criticized New York City leadership over antisemitism.
The 50-year-old Likud Party member noted he attended New York’s Israel Day Parade last month despite the absence of the city’s mayor, adding, “The real monster in NYC is the antisemite currently occupying Gracie Mansion,” in a pointed reference to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence.
Framing Israel’s current moment as historic, Ohana said the Jewish state has “emerged as a global power” and vowed it would ensure “the Jewish people will never again stand defenseless.”
He cast the ongoing struggle as unfinished but decisive, saying Israel’s “recent victories are not the end of the story, but they will be the foundation of what comes next.
“The struggle will end with Am Yisrael Chai [‘The People of Israel Lives’],” he said. “God bless America. God bless Israel.”
Amit Halevi
Likud lawmaker Amit Halevi warned on Monday that Israel and the West face a common threat from “radical Islam,” likening it to Nazi Germany in remarks at the JNS Policy Summit.
Halevi, a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, described Islamist movements as a “murderous ideology” driven by religious doctrine, accusing the Islamic Republic of Iran of killing tens of thousands of its own citizens and seeking regional domination through terrorist proxies in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. He also criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Drawing repeated comparisons to the 1930s, Halevi said Western governments risk repeating the mistakes of pre-World War II appeasement, accusing them of failing to recognize the nature of the threat. He took aim at ongoing U.S. engagement with the Iranian regime, singling out Vice President JD Vance for talks in Switzerland with Iran, warning that “repeating the same mistake twice turns a mistake into a crime.”
He also directed words toward U.S. President Donald Trump, telling him that “you are not fighting for Israel, Israel is fighting for you.”
Halevi argued that Israel is “on the front line of a global campaign,” fighting not only for itself but for Western capitals, and cautioned that the threat would spread beyond the Middle East if left unchecked.
Yisrael Ganz
Binyamin Regional Council head and Yesha Council Chairman Yisrael Ganz called for extending Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria and warned against a “weak” Iran deal during remarks on Monday at the JNS Policy Summit.
“The U.N. calls it ‘occupied.’ The E.U. calls it ‘disputed.’ My GPS simply says ‘recalculating.’ But my grandfather called it home, and the Bible calls it Israel. After 3,000 years, I’ve stopped waiting for the world’s permission to know where I live,” he said.
Ganz said Israel “will never stop fighting” for its people and urged U.S. allies not to “prevent us from defending ourselves,” framing sovereignty as essential to Israel’s future security. He also highlighted growing ties with American partners, citing a recent trade mission to Arkansas and plans for a major industrial zone in Judea and Samaria.
