Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli on Tuesday advocated for a fundamental shift in how Jewish communities are protected worldwide, urging that local security personnel be permitted to carry firearms to defend against escalating global antisemitism.
During his address at the 2026 JNS International Policy Summit, Chikli emphasized that defensive forces must possess functional weapons to serve a purpose.
“What is the meaning of armed security if they can’t prevent horrific incidents?" Chikli asked. “Carrying weapons is very important; that the security forces of the community will be armed. It can save lives."
To illustrate his point, the minister contrasted security regulations in Australia, noting that while guards can carry weapons inside Jewish facilities, they were unarmed during the December attack at a public park near Bondi Beach. Had those personnel been armed on the beach, Chikli asserted, the deadly 12-minute rampage could have been cut short.
The minister also expressed deep skepticism regarding the readiness of local law enforcement bodies tasked with guarding these institutions. He highlighted Monday’s shooting in Montreal, pointing to reports indicating that a responding policewoman accidentally shot a Jewish bystander, and stressed that neutralizing terrorism requires highly effective, well-trained police forces.
Chikli noted that he had explicitly cautioned Canadian officials months prior, detailing a January 14 warning sent to Canada's Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree.
According to Chikli, his alerts were completely disregarded by Ottawa. He told summit attendees that Canadian leadership has failed to stem the tide of rising antisemitic hostility or address a surge in radical Islamist threats, pointing to a string of unpunished shootings targeting Jewish schools and organizations.
Furthermore, Chikli linked the rising hostility across Canada, Australia, and the United States directly to their current administrations' diplomatic decisions to formally endorse Palestinian statehood while Israel remains actively engaged in a conflict against Hamas.
“When you are recognizing a terror state in the middle of the war, while our hostages are still in the dungeons, you are empowering these radical forces," he said.
Shifting focus to Middle Eastern diplomacy and American relations, Chikli defended his peers against allegations that Israeli officials had spoken out against US President Donald Trump, calling Trump an unparalleled ally to Israel. He expressed gratitude for Trump’s historic actions during his first term, including moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, affirming Israeli control over the Golan Heights, brokering the Abraham Accords, providing robust military assistance, and ordering the 2020 termination of Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani.
While praising Trump, the minister firmly opposed any potential easing of financial blockades against Tehran.
“There is a huge difference between ending the war and relieving the sanctions," he said. “The sanctions should continue, because every dime that we give to this regime will go straight for terror, for mass destruction, for instability of the entire region."
Chikli labeled the current Iranian establishment a brutal autocracy that primarily inflicts suffering upon its own citizens. He focused extensively on a shifting regional alignment, asserting that as Iranian and Hezbollah assets face severe degradation, a dangerous alternative framework spearheaded by Turkey, Pakistan, and Qatar has filled the vacuum.
When questioned about upcoming local elections, Chikli defended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategic achievements since the October 7, 2023 attacks, stating that Israeli operations had successfully crippled Hamas and reduced Hezbollah to a weaker guerrilla outfit. He also highlighted the state's ongoing push to expand Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as a deliberate effort to block a Palestinian state.
Finally, Chikli took a sharp political swipe at former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, under whose banner he originally entered politics before migrating to the Likud Party.
“Bennett is the [Bernie] Madoff of Israeli politics," Chikli said, accusing him of breaking his campaign promises when he formed a coalition government in 2021 together with the Yesh Atid Party’s Yair Lapid, something Bennett explicitly vowed he would never do.
Chikli concluded by reinforcing that a cohesive right-wing coalition remains vital to securing Israel's borders, sustaining territorial growth, and preserving the nation's security advantages.