Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi) mentioned the goings on in Syria on Sunday, as he spoke at a dedication ceremony for a new neighborhood in Samaria.
“On this day, although it is a day of great joy, I cannot refrain from mentioning what is happening in the north in our neighbor, Syria,” said Ariel, referring to the reports of a deadly chemical attack by regime troops outside of Damascus.
“Of all people, we, who cried out, and have been asking to this day, 'how could the world have been silent?' – We, as people; we, as Jews, cannot remain silent in the face of genocide, no matter who it is and where it is. And I say to ourselves – first of all, to ourselves, as Jews; as citizens of Israel; as a minister in the government of Israel, there will not be another genocide. We will not allow it,” he said.
“The Jews in Zion and Jews the world over have an obligation – not a right, an obligation of the first degree – to alert and wake up the entire world, everywhere, in the UN, in the US and Europe – we are obligated to do this because we experienced this as a nation, and we are the Jewish people. I am already acting and I will continue to act so that this awareness will reach everywhere and that with the grace of G-d, we will stop this horror,” declared Ariel.
“I am not in charge of the military steps. There is a cabinet and government for that. Our duty, first and foremost, is to talk about this. To cry out and protest it, and to activate whoever we can, who has a human heart, to prevent another genocide.”