NETANYAHU’S WELCOMING ADDRESS TO THE CHRISTIAN MEDIA

I want to welcome you all to Jerusalem, the eternal united capital of the Jewish people.

You know, you are joining us as we celebrate 50 years since the Holy City was liberated and united; 50 years of religious freedom for all. You know that because you walk around, you go to the holy sites, you go to the churches, others go to the mosques, and you know this is a free city.

I want you also to join us in looking forward to the day when the embassies of all your countries move to Jerusalem.

Israel has no better friends – I mean that – no better friends in the world than the Christian communities around the world. And Israel is the one country in a vast region where Christians not only survive, they thrive.

You know the truth about Israel's history and the truth about our commitment to freedom. Freedom is under a challenge all the time, and I think it scored a big victory the other day. I want to thank President Trump for his courageous speech outlining a new course against Iran, the enemy of our free civilization.

Iran is a threat to the entire world, but today I want to focus on Iran's war against Christians. As you all know, Christians are brutally persecuted in the Islamic Republic. Pastors are jailed for no reason, no reason other than for being Christian leaders. Christians have been lashed. You hear this? Christians have been lashed for sipping wine during prayer services; Christians have been brutally tortured for doing nothing more than practicing their faith.

Now, some world leaders are willing to ignore this repression and seek to appease Iran, but I am not one of them.

I think that how a country treats religious minorities is a very good indicator of how it will treat its other citizens and its neighbors. So today I have a simple request for the media outlets in this room: Dedicate this week to highlighting the plight of the countless Christians suffering under Iran; Profile the brave Christian leaders jailed for practicing their faith; Sit with the families of the school teachers jailed for years merely for converting to Christianity; Call out the lie and the lies of President Rouhani, who promised in 2013 that all religions would, quote, feel justice in Iran, while so many Christians live there in constant terror.

And I want to thank you for what you're doing, taking your part and doing your part to stand up for religious freedom. Thank you for highlighting the danger of the terrorist regime in Iran. Thank you for telling the truth about Israel's pluralistic democracy. Thank you for standing with Israel. We all are deeply grateful. Thank you.

(From Israel Today. The address was given to the Christian Media Summit in Jerusalem last Sunday.)