Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'arYoav Dudkevitz / TPS

Foreign Minister Sa’ar enters Foreign Ministry, addresses diplomats and staff.

Minister Sa'ar: “I see a direct line between the mob that acted against Israelis on the streets of Amsterdam and the political use of international legal proceedings in The Hague, not a long line — a short, direct connection. Delegitimizing Israel translates into dehumanizing every Israeli, every Jew..”*

Newly appointed Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar today entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following his flash visit to the Netherlands over the weekend after the violent attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam.

At the official ministerial handover ceremony, Minister Sa’ar addressed the diplomats and staff of the Ministry. In his speech, he stressed the importance of Israel expanding its diplomatic connections around the region and the world, and the importance raising awareness of Israel’s case with leaders and societies around the world.

Minister Sa'ar said, “We are in a difficult diplomatic period, facing immediate political threats. But we also face opportunities. We must develop a comprehensive and updated diplomatic assessment. The world order, if we can still use this term, has been severely disrupted in recent years and not just in the Middle East. Israel’s firm stance in the past year and its achievements in the fight against the Iranian axis have made it an even more important regional and international player. The country is still embroiled in a tough war on multiple fronts, marking a historic milestone, the outcome of which will significantly impact our future and the future of our region.”

“Our desire to expand the circle of peace and normalization with the Arab world remains unchanged. I hope we will succeed in this regard with Saudi Arabia and other countries. We have not given up on this. We must carefully examine our surroundings and forge strong alliances. I want to emphasize the importance of other minorities in the region,” said Sa’ar.

“For example,” he said, “the Kurdish people are a large nation, one of the largest stateless nations. They are our natural allies. They are a national minority in four countries, with autonomy in two of them—de facto in Syria and de jure in Iraq’s constitution. They suffer from oppression and aggression from Iran and Turkey. We must reach out to them and strengthen our ties. There are both diplomatic and security dimensions to this. I am also closely following the Druze minority in neighboring countries, Syria.”

The Minister addressed the worrying rise in global antisemitism and spoke about the attacks in Amsterdam last week. He noted, “Shortly after 2am on Friday morning, we began receiving the first reports from Amsterdam, from citizens there and their families, and I immediately took action. I was in contact with my Dutch counterpart, seeking urgent solutions on the ground. We launched a major rescue operation that thankfully ended successfully. Early in the morning, I decided to go to the Netherlands, in coordination with the Prime Minister, to demonstrate our commitment to protecting the lives of Israelis and Jews everywhere, and to ensure that the severe pogrom there was addressed appropriately by Dutch authorities and to raise the flag of the fight against malignant antisemitism for the whole world to see.”

Minister Sa’ar stressed, “This antisemitism is today growing stronger across Europe and beyond. The old antisemitism targeted Jews, while the new antisemitism targets the Jewish state, making every Jew a target. The scenes we witnessed of rioters asking for passports, and if it showed they were Israeli violently attacking them with cruelty, and hatred — in scenes reminiscent of the kind we thought we would never see again. This new antisemitism has a goal: the destruction of the State of Israel. Some are working on the plan for physical, military annihilation, but the complementary action is delegitimization: denying Israel’s right to exist. The slogan, 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,' is a call for destruction. And I commend the decision of the Berlin Regional Court over the weekend that ruled this expression to be a hate crime, an illegal expression, which should be punished and condemned.”

“Another element,” he added, “is denying Israel's right to self-defense, a right enshrined in the UN Charter. The aim of the various legal proceedings in the ICJ and ICC is to deny Israel this right to self-defense. From whom are they seeking to strip this right, afforded to every nation? From the world’s most attacked country— from the south, north, east. Luckily, the sea to the west brings us calm for now. Israel, the most threatened country in the world, the only state openly threatened with annihilation by leaders of other nations, notably Iran – just look at the Twitter feed of Khamenei, it’s there clear as day.”

Minister Sa’ar continued, “Israel is fighting morally against this barbarity and adhering to the rules of war. I see a direct line between the mob that acted against Israelis on the streets of Amsterdam and the political use of international legal proceedings in The Hague, not a long line — a short, direct connection. Delegitimizing Israel translates into dehumanizing every Israeli, every Jew. This we all saw in the most shocking way imaginable.”

He concluded by saying, “You, the Foreign Ministry staff, stand on the diplomatic frontline. Our current battle is a clear battle of awareness, also fought in the media and on social networks. We are at a disadvantage here, to put it mildly. This influences international public opinion and rolls into the diplomatic arena and international legal institutions. Our role is to be fighters for awareness, to fight for our justice on the world stage, under difficult conditions. It is no secret that Israeli public diplomacy and awareness efforts have not received the resources and tools needed for this battle for decades. I am determined to change that. I don’t believe in the concept of a lost battle. The truth is on our side, and we must spread it worldwide.”