ISRAEL IS READY TO DEFEND ITSELF AGAINST ANOTHER HOLOCAUST

During the opening of a new memorial exhibition at Auschwitz, the prime minister gave the following speech:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited Auschwitz on Thursday with Iran very much on his mind, saying one of the key lessons the Jews took from the Holocaust was not to expect "others to do the work for us." "The leaders of the Allies knew about the Holocaust in real time," Netanyahu said at the opening of a new permanent exhibit called "Shoah" in Block 27 at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

"They understood exactly what was happening in the death camps. They were asked to act, they could have acted, and they did not. To us Jews the lesson is clear. We must not be complacent in the face of threats of annihilation. We must not bury our heads in the sand or allow others to do the work for us. We will never be helpless again," he said.

Netanyahu, who in the past has drawn parallels between Iran's nuclear march and call for the destruction of Israel to the Nazi intention to wipe out the Jews, said "even today we hear threats of the destruction of the Jewish people, and the world behaves as usual.

"From here, Auschwitz-Birekanu, the place that attests to the desire to destroy our people, I -- the Prime Minister of Israel, the state of the Jewish People -- say to all the nations of the world: The State of Israel will do whatever is necessary to prevent another holocaust. Even today there is someone who declares his intention to destroy millions of Jews and wipe their state off the map."

Netanyahu said the difference between then and now was that today "we have an independent state and a strong army, which allow us to protect our people and to stop this criminal intent." Netanyahu disputed the notion that the world's attitude toward the Jews has changed after the Holocaust. "What has really changed?" he asked.

"The hatred of Jews changes form, but it remains -- if not [based on] racial superiority, than [on] religious superiority. And the world's apathy toward this hatred remains the same." Netanyahu said that the world has swiftly become accustomed again to those declaring that they want to destroy millions of Jews.

Likewise, he said, "the indecision of the enlightened countries regarding whether to act against extreme regimes that threaten us and the peace of the world is also something that has not changed."

The only thing that has changed, he said, "is our ability and determination to act to defend ourselves and prevent another Holocaust."

Absolutely right. But the query that remains is if the government has the political/diplomatic guts to prove their capabilities in defense.