Israel is at the forefront of the global war on terrorism, stopping radical Islam on its way to attack Europe, Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett said in a video released first to The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
The clip is Bennett’s response to recent terrorist attacks on cartoonists and Jewish sites in Paris and Copenhagen, compounded with European criticisms of Israel’s policies.
In the video, Bennett stands on a hilltop in Samaria and points out that Tel Aviv is only 9 miles (15.5 km.) away.
The Bayit Yehudi leader described the threats Israel faces: Hezbollah in the north, Islamic State in the east and Hamas in the south.
“This is the front line between the free and civilized world,” Bennett pointed toward Tel Aviv in the west, “and radical Islam,” he said, pointing to the east.
“We’re stopping the flow of radical Islam from flowing from Iran and Iraq all the way to Europe,” he stated. “When we fight terror here, we’re protecting London, Paris and Madrid.”
Bennett pointed west yet again, saying that if Israel gives up the land he is standing on – in the West Bank – then his four children in Ra’anana will be in danger.
“To expect us to give up this land does not make sense,” he said.
The video concludes with Bennett declaring: “Your war for democracy starts here. Your war for freedom of speech starts right here. Your war for dignity and freedom starts right here.”
Then, the words “Israel fighting for your freedom” appeared on the screen.
The video came a week after Bennett reprimanded EU ambassadors for their stances on Israel.
“To single out Israel, to twist our arms economically in the hopes that we’ll commit suicide because, financially, we’ll get hit if we don’t, is immoral from my perspective,” Bennett said.
According to an Army Radio report, Bennett told the envoys that they didn’t seem to understand that Israel was “the big dam in this big river of terror” and called on them to “help us, back us.”
The clip also comes after a drop in the polls for Bennett’s party, as Bayit Yehudi averaged 12.4 Knesset seats in last week’s polls, dropping to 11 in some.
Internal party polling showed that hasbara, or public diplomacy, is an important issue to Bayit Yehudi voters, and the video could be part of a tactic to pull back in those who moved or are considering moving to vote for the Likud or Yahad.