(JNi.media) Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s most effective theatrical moment at the United Nations on Thursday easily overshadowed his by now renowned Wile E. Coyote Iran toon bomb from 2012. It was his 44 seconds of silence to symbolize the world’s silence in the face of Iranian threats to annihilate Israel.
“Seventy years after the murder of 6 million Jews, Iran’s rulers promise to destroy my country, murder my people; and the response from this body — the response from nearly every one of the governments represented here — has been absolutely nothing,” Netanyahu told the assembled world leaders. “Utter silence. Deafening silence.”
And then the Israeli leader paused for 44 seconds to illustrate his point, and stared around the silent room.
“Perhaps you can now understand why Israel is not joining you in celebrating this [Iran nuclear] deal,” he continued. “If Iran’s rulers were working to destroy your countries, perhaps you’d be less enthusiastic about the deal.”
Speaking about the nuclear deal between the world powers and Iran, Netanyahu rebuked his listeners at the Assembly: “Perhaps you’d be more reluctant to celebrate, if the deal threatened your neighborhood,” he said, pointing out that Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missiles are meant for the US and Europe.
Addressing Iran’s rulers, Netanyahu promised: “Your plan to destroy Israel will fail. No force on earth will threaten Israel’s future. We will do whatever it takes to defend our state and our people.”