UN Speech

Bibi Kills It... And Then Pulls Out Charts

Some quotes from the Prime Minister that will be hard to forget. (Mitt Romney should seriously consider hiring Netanyahu's speechwriter.) Note: These quotes are not sequential.

"Militant jihadists behave much differently than secular Marxists."

"They want to drag humanity back to an age of unquestioning dogma... ultimately, they will fail. Light will penetrate the darkness."

"It's because Israel cherishes life that Israel cherishes peace, and seeks peace."

"The Jewish people have come home. We will never be uprooted again."

"For today a great battle is being waged between the modern and medieval."

"Israel stands proudly with the forces of modernity. We protect the rights of all our citizens."

Bibi also directly called out Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, saying: "I say to him, and I say to you, we won't solve our conflict with libelous speeches at the UN."

And then he pulled out a chart to describe the threat of a nuclear Iran:

We'll see which part people remember, but my personal feelings are that the charts were not helpful. Let people remember what you said, not how you looked while holding a graphic that resembles something from a cartoon.

This was a world leader calling forth help from his nation's friends. It would not be unfair to say his rhetoric was impressive, and his arguments poignant. I hope an overall impressive speech is not remembered for a few awkward minutes.

Update: Full video of Netanyahu's speech below. I'll have the transcript up as soon as possible.

Update 2: Apparently the Israeli government won't be releasing a written transcript, so it may take a while before a full one is ready for publication. Apologies.

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Justin Green

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