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Netanyahu at the UN General Assembly: 'Israel is in the midst of a revolution, a revolution of Israel’s standing among the

Israel is in the midst of "a revolution, a revolution of Israel’s standing among the nations", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he started his speech to the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York. ''The world embraces Israel and Israel embraces the world,'' he said.

He attributed this to the fact that "so many countries around the world have finally woken up to what Israel can do for them."

‘’Those countries now recognize what brilliant investors, like Warren Buffet, and great companies, like Google and Intel, what they've recognized and known for years: that Israel is the innovation nation. The place for cutting-edge technology and agriculture, in water, in cybersecurity, in medicine, in autonomous vehicles. You name it, we've got it.’’

Those countries, he added, ‘’also recognize Israel’s exceptional capabilities in fighting terrorism...We have saved countless lives. You may not know this but your governments do and they're working closely together with Israel to keep your countries safe and your citizens safe."

Stressing the profound change in Israel's standing around the world since one year, Netanyahu mentioned that hundreds of presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers and other leaders have visited Israel, many for the first time. ‘’Of these many visits, two were truly historic. In May, President Trump became the first American president to include Israel in his first visit abroad. President Trump stood at the Western Wall, at the foot of the Temple Mount, where the Jewish people - or rather the Jewish people's temples stood for nearly 1,000 years, and when the president touched those ancient stones, he touched our hearts forever,’’ he said.

Netanyahu was introduced by Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, in his new capacity as a Vice President of the General Assembly,

In his speech, he also addressed in length Iran, slamming the nuclear deal with Tehran and echoing statements he made during last year's UN General Assembly speech that rather than blocking Iran's path to the bomb, "it paves it."

In light of the deal’s flaws, he said that it must be ripped up or radically amended.

“Change it or cancel it,” he said. “Fix it or nix it.”

He compared Iran's quest to become a nuclear power with that of North Korea, whose leader US President Donald Trump referred to as "rocket man" earlier today.

"There are those who still defend the dangerous [Iranian nuclear] deal, arguing that it will block Iran's path to the bomb. That's exactly what they said about the nuclear deal with North Korea, and we all know how that turned out. If nothing changes, this deal with turn out exactly the same way," he said.

The Israeli premier warned of a "vast Islamist Iranian empire" if the Iranian nuclear deal is not fixed or nixed.

"Every day, Iran is conducting a campaign of conquest across the Middle East and developing ballistic missiles to threaten the entire world," he said.

He said that "those who threaten us with annihilation put themselves in mortal peril. Israel will defend itself with the full force of our arms and the full power of our convictions."

He had a message for Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei: "The light of Israel will never be extinguished."

He said “there are signs of positive change even at the United Nations” and thanked US President Donald Trump and US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley “for speaking the truth about Israel.”

Netanyahu ended his speech by wishing everyone a “shana tova” — happy new year in Hebrew — ahead of Rosh Hashanah, which begins Wednesday evening.

On Monday, Netanyahu and Trump met in New York City on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.

The Israeli leader emphasized the threat posed by Iran, while the president spent most of his time at their joint press conference talking up the prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Netanyahu warmly praised Trump for his conduct of America’s bilateral relations with Israel. “Under your leadership the alliance between America and Israel has never been stronger, never been deeper,” he said.

In his speech to the UN General Assembly, President Trump slammed Iran, declaring that it was “past time to confront” the “murderous regime” in Tehran, and making clear his deep distaste for the 2015 nuclear agreement. ''We cannot abide by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear program,” Trump said.

Iran’s leaders spoke “openly of mass murder, vowing death to America, destruction to Israel, and ruin for many leaders and nations in this room,” he noted. Iran stood “in stark contrast to the recent commitments of many of its neighbors to fight terrorism and halt its financing.” Trump accused the Iranian government of “masking a corrupt dictatorship under the guise of a democracy,” condemning Tehran for using “its oil profits…to fund Hezbollah and other terrorists that kill innocent Muslims and attack their peaceful Arab and Israeli neighbors,” alongside its backing for the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad in Syria — decried by Trump as a “criminal regime” that had used illegal chemical weapons against its own civilians, adults and children alike.

“It is time for the entire world to join us in demanding that Iran’s government end its pursuit of death and destruction,” Trump said. “It is time for the regime to free all Americans and citizens of other nations that they have unjustly detained. And above all, Iran’s government must stop supporting terrorists, begin serving its own people, and respect the sovereign rights of its neighbors.”

EJP