MK Nir Barkat (Likud), former Mayor of Jerusalem, spoke on Thursday at the 2021 IAC National Summit in Florida.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that Israel will flourish in the future. Israel has gone through major wars, and we will always know how to overcome our enemies. We have the best army in the world, we have great partnerships here in America and I think that the IAC is a classic example of how Israel and the United States work together. I’m very optimistic about our future,” said Barkat, who was interviewed by Israel Hayom editor-in-chief Boaz Bismuth.
On the Iranian nuclear threat, Barkat said that there is no opposition or coalition as “we are all one people”, and that Republican and Democratic lawmakers, with whom he met in Washington, understand the same thing.
“The Iranians want to create a bomb in order to use it. They teach their children to commit suicide and to wipe out Israel. There’s nothing to talk about with someone who wants to throw you into the sea. You must stop them and must never let them have a bomb,” he stated.
Barkat also noted that Iran also has conventional methods to strike Israel, mainly in the form of rockets and missiles that are aimed at Israel.
“We must change the equation with Iran. We must say to the Iranian regime that any rocket that is fired on Israel from any of the proxies around us, the target should be Tehran. We should be prepared not for the Third Lebanese War but for the first war with Iran. And the only way to prevent a war is to seriously prepare for it. The Iranians must understand that we will hit them extremely hard. I want them to fear before they push the button and hit Israel, either with nukes or with missiles.”
On the issue of a US consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem, Barkat said, “We have to do everything to make sure that Jerusalem will never be divided. It has to be a united city. We all know that Torah comes from Jerusalem, we all know that Jerusalem makes all people friends. It’s because of the uniqueness of the unity of the city.”
“Trying to open a Palestinian consulate in the city of Jerusalem is de facto dividing the city, and that is why we will never allow it,” he stressed.
Asked whether he plans to challenge Benjamin Netanyahu for the leadership of the Likud, Barkat replied that he will run in the primaries after Netanyahu decides he no longer wants to lead the Likud “and I will win”.