Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a forceful and wide-ranging speech Wednesday at Newsmax's fourth annual celebration in Jerusalem, declaring that "most Americans" reject Hamas' "lies" and stand with Israel in its ongoing battle against what he called "the barbarians at the gate."
The prime minister's appearance was at a critical moment as Israel appears to be on the brink of a major military action in Gaza.
Broadcast live across the Newsmax network, Netanyahu used the extended address to link Israel's current security struggle with the shared values and historical alliances between Israel and the United States.
Major Israeli and U.S. political, media, and business leaders joined the celebration, including U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Alan Dershowitz, and Malcolm Hoenlein with the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.
The prime minister opened his speech praising Newsmax for its coverage.
"Thank you, Newsmax, for helping us on the eighth-front war: seven fronts against Iran and its proxies, the eighth front — the battle for truth," Netanyahu said.
"And, Newsmax, you have let the truth circle the globe against the lies that have circled it before and continue to do so.
"There's only one way to beat the lies, and that's with the truth."
Netanyahu was introduced by Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy, who delivered a strong introduction, framing the prime minister's leadership as historic.
"It is my profound honor to introduce a man whose life's work has been the defense of his people, the preservation of freedom, and the unflinching pursuit of truth," Ruddy began.
Ruddy praised Netanyahu for confronting "two of the gravest threats to Israel's security": the growing danger of Iran's nuclear program and the persistent menace from Gaza.
He compared Netanyahu's actions to Winston Churchill's stand against appeasement before World War II.
"On Oct. 7, we all recognized that all people who love freedom and cherish the values of a great society ... on that day we all became Israelis and we all stood with Prime Minister Netanyahu and the people of Israel," Ruddy concluded.
Netanyahu expressed gratitude for the outpouring of U.S. public support, saying Americans "recognize that we are fighting the barbarians at the gate."
"When I say barbarians, this is not hyperbole," Netanyahu said. "It's not only the goal of destroying Israel; it's the method they use to murder and mutilate the heathen, as they call them."
He strongly rejected accusations that Israel is waging a "starvation policy" in Gaza or committing genocide. "The genocidal element is Hamas," he declared.
"The genocidal element is the Iranian axis that openly calls for the annihilation of Israel, the extermination of Jews in America, and for the death of America itself."
The prime minister gave an emotional and graphic account of the "savage massacre of Druze" in Syria, detailing an Islamist rampage that murdered men and women, after rape and torture.
He said one Druze had his heart cut out of his body and eaten while still alive.
Netanyahu said that fighting misinformation is now an "eighth front" in the war, alongside military and humanitarian efforts.
He cited the example of emaciated Israeli hostages contrasted with "corpulent" Hamas captors as evidence that "the only deliberate starvation policy in Gaza is the starving of our hostages."
From the start of the conflict following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Netanyahu said Israel has gone to unprecedented lengths to separate civilians from combatants — even in urban warfare.
He accused Hamas of firing on civilians attempting to flee and then blaming Israel for the resulting deaths.
"This has never happened before in a war," he said. "And then Israel is blamed for genocide. That's ridiculous."
Addressing humanitarian concerns, Netanyahu said Israel has delivered nearly 2 million tons of food and medical aid to Gaza, and that "if Israel wanted to starve the Palestinians, nearly two years after the war began, everybody in Gaza would be dead."
He accused Hamas of looting aid, killing aid workers, and creating shortages.
"Hamas caused the hunger problem," he said flatly. Israel, he continued, has responded with a "humanitarian surge," opening safe routes, expanding distribution points, and inviting international partners to join the effort.
"Hundreds of trucks go in daily," he said. "The hunger problem has basically been solved. What has not been solved is the campaign of lies."
Netanyahu criticized international media outlets, singling out The New York Times for publishing misleading images to support famine allegations.
He said that three children portrayed as famine victims in a widely circulated report were in fact suffering from genetic diseases — and two of them had been treated by Israel.
He linked current accusations to centuries-old antisemitic blood libels, recalling false charges in the Middle Ages that Jews poisoned wells or used Christian blood in rituals — lies that helped pave the way to the Holocaust.
"Then we had no defense," Netanyahu said. "Now we have a country, an army. And we fight back against our tormentors."
The prime minister also condemned U.S. campus activists who chant "from the river to the sea," warning that many do not realize the slogan calls for the eradication of the entire state of Israel.
"If you're not ready to fight for freedom, you will lose it," Netanyahu warned.
"We are prepared to fight, and I know America is prepared to stand with us," he said.
The Newsmax fourth annual Fourth of July celebration in Jerusalem underscored the deep political and cultural ties between Israel's leadership and America.
The event was originally scheduled in early July but moved due to Israel's military action against Iran.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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