Netanyahu Calls US Jews to Unite in Support of Israel

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the American Jewish community to unite in support of Israel.

Speaking at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly, Netanyahu reaffirmed U.S.-Israeli ties, saying "no matter what disagreements there are between Israel and the United States, Israel has no better friend than America and America has no better friend than Israel."

He called for Jewish unity in the face of his fierce opposition to the Iranian nuclear deal, which many felt drove a wedge between Jewish organizations and some of their leaders.

"No matter what disagreements there have been within the Jewish community, maintaining the unity of our people is of paramount importance," Netanyahu said. "There is only one Jewish people. There is only one Jewish state. And now, more than ever, we must work together to unite the Jewish people and secure the Jewish state."

Israel, he said, is the only nation in the region where the Christian population is growing and where gay rights are protected. It's a nation founded on egalitarianism.

"You see it in an Arab schoolboy who knows that – or school girl – they can grow up to be Knesset members or ambassadors or a Supreme Court justice," he said. "We have an Arab Supreme Court justice, in case you didn't know. And it's the only truly independent court in a very, very large radius."

Netanyahu said he's working to ensure that Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews can all feel at home in Israel.

"As prime minister of Israel, I will always ensure that all Jews can feel at home in Israel – Reform Jews, Conservative Jews, Orthodox Jews – all Jews," he said. "And now, for the first time, the government of Israel is joining with the Jewish Agency to invest in strengthening Reform and Conservative communities within Israel."

An "unshakeable bond" unites Jewish people, he said.

"It's a bond of hope – not the shallow hope of wishful thinking, but the deep wellspring of confidence that comes from a people who have forded history's most turbulent rivers and emerged triumphant on the other side in the Promised Land," Netanyahu said.