Israel’s Netanyahu Says Strong Army Key To Peace And Survival Jewish Nation
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear Friday that a strong army backed by a strong economy was key to the survival of the Jewish nation and peace.
Netanyahu spoke in Budapest, where he received an honorary degree at one of Central and Eastern Europe’s youngest but most influential universities in Hungary.
“A strong army together with a strong economy will lead to peace,” Netanyahu said in a lecture at the National University of Public Service after being awarded the Civis Universitatis Honoris Causa title.
He stressed that it had been essential for the survival of Jewish people to have their own state that could protect them. “If they want to destroy you, you need a strong army, which Israel has managed to create,” he told students.
Netanyahu acknowledged that a strong army required a large amount of money. “Since defending Israel costs a lot, the Jewish state needed a strong economy,” he added.
Netanyahu admitted that Israel had “an economy that built on a socialist basis” but later converted it into a “modern market-based capitalist economy.”
Netanyahu noted it had generated “a dynamic [gross domestic product] GDP growth,” and the proportion of defense spending started decreasing in Israel’s budget as a result.
COURAGE NEEDED
Addressing students, the 75-year-old seasoned statesman said, “In addition to education and an image of the future, courage was also necessary for a successful future.”
The university, visited by Netanyahu, was founded in 2012 under right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government to educate future public administration officials, military personnel, and law enforcement officers. It also educates current public service officials and functions as a think tank to help formulate policies.
Netanyahu came to the university on his second day in Hungary, where he was invited despite being sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called the ICC a “political court” and said his country “would withdraw” from the institution.
Orbán stressed that Hungary won’t hand over Netanyahu to The Hague-based ICC, adding that the Israeli leader would be given extensive protection till Netanyahu’s departure on Sunday, April 6.
However, some European leaders and rights activists said that as a founding member of the ICC, Hungary is obliged to arrest and hand over anyone subject to a warrant from the court. Hungary ratified the ICC’s founding document in 2001, but the law has not been promulgated.
Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp of the Netherlands, which hosts the ICC, argued on Thursday that until its withdrawal from the court was complete, which he added takes about a year, “Hungary must still meet its duties.”
That wasn’t likely to happen, and Netanyahu said Hungary was among Israel’s closest allies.
MORE WARRANTS
The ICC had also issued an arrest warrant against a Hamas leader, Mohammed Deif, whose death was confirmed after the warrant was issued.
Prosecutors also sought to arrest Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar. Both were killed in Israeli strikes before the request was approved.
The Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies, with 59 still held in Gaza, including an Israeli-Hungarian citizen.
The Israeli reprisals following that attack have killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza claim, without differentiating between combatants and civilians.
Hamas, designated a terrorist group by Israel and the West, condemned Hungary’s decision to leave the ICC.
Yet Netanyahu praised Hungary’s move and added Friday that he expected to maintain a “close partnership” with the United States under President Donald J. Trump and with Hungary led by likeminded Prime Minister Orbán.
Rector Gergely Deli said Netanyahu was “a prominent figure in world politics” and praised his leadership and “his unwavering dedication towards Israel’s security and welfare.”
PRO-ISRAEL
The rector also noted the Israeli leader’s “dedication to protecting Hungarian-Israeli citizens” and his contribution “to strengthening ties between Hungary and Israel.”
He made clear that many Hungarians hold a strong pro-Israel sentiment.
Stickers and posters commemorating the victims of the October 7 terror attack against Israel have been seen in Budapest.
A Holocaust memorial on the bank of the River Danube just outside the Hungarian Parliament was adorned with yellow ribbons, signaling the support for the hostages held in Gaza.
With up to 120,000 Jews, Hungary is home to Eastern Europe’s largest Jewish community outside Russia.
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