Former Prime Minister and current opposition leader Yair Lapid addressed the AIPAC Congressional Summit in Washington, DC, on Monday.
To the crowd, Lapid spoke of his experiences on October 7, 2023, sitting in his Tel Aviv home’s basement, holding his daughter Yael’s hands.
Yael, who has autism and is non-verbal, left the basement to go sit by herself with headphones on, disconnecting while listening to “It’s a Small World After All,” made famous by Disney theme parks worldwide.
He connected her reaction to Israel’s hardest morning to date with his father’s experience 80 years earlier in a basement in the ghetto of Budapest, Hungary, as a 13-year-old who the world wanted to kill for no reason other than that he was Jewish.
Lapid connected both experiences with the Jewish mission time and again of coming out stronger from the darkest moments. “I’m a believer in the ability of the Jewish people to rise from the ashes,” Lapid told the crowd.
He noted that just three years after his father was hiding in the ghetto, the State of Israel was founded. “In the summer of 1948, my father arrived on an old boat to the shores of Israel and enlisted in the Jewish army of the Jewish state. He didn’t wait for his future, he created it. He didn’t accept his fate, he changed it.”
Demise of terrorist leaders and regimes
In his address, Lapid discussed the demise of terrorist leaders and regimes that celebrated the October 7 massacre and the demise of those groups that followed.
“After October 7, the regime in Syria celebrated. That regime no longer exists,” he boasted. “The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, celebrated in Beirut; Nasrallah no longer exists. Sinwar and Deif, the leaders of Hamas, celebrated in Gaza; Sinwar and Deif no longer exist.”
He discussed celebrations on the streets in Iran on the day of the massacre, noting that since then, despite Iran’s multiple attempts to destroy Israel, the country’s air defense systems have collapsed thanks to Israeli planes and pilots.
“If the Iranian regime believes that it can continue to develop its nuclear program and Israel will stand by – then they are making the biggest mistake of their lives,” he said.
He called for the nation’s continued fight against Hamas, Iran and its proxies, and antisemitism. “We can stand together against the antisemitism that is raising its ugly head once more here in the United States and across the world. To our enemies, we say – “We are stronger than you, we are better than you, and the Jewish people are done being afraid of you.”
“Whoever attacks our brothers and sisters – in New York or in Kibbutz Nir Oz, in Pittsburgh or Sderot, in Paris or Jerusalem – will find us all standing facing them – united, determined, unbreakable.”
Lapid addressed that the state of the Jewish people has improved, though it hasn’t seemed that way on the surface. He said that his grandfather was murdered in a concentration camp, yet his father arrived in a country that people were not sure would survive, and his children served in the greatest military in the Middle East — all created in less than 80 years.
“When faced with any nightmare, any disaster, we always have one right which cannot be taken away from us – we are allowed to fight for what we believe in. We are allowed to defend ourselves, and we will defend ourselves,” he proclaimed.
Lapid discussed the powerful US-Israel relationship, noting that Israel’s strongest ally is the United States. He credits the actions taken by President Donald Trump for helping Israel progress, both through the Abraham Accords and proposals for how to move forward after the war is over.
He emphasized the importance of bringing each and every hostage home until the last one. “Demand that every leader, here in the US and across the world, do everything – everything to bring them all home,” he said.
He also emphasized that in Judaism, life is precious, but groups like Hamas sanctify death and destruction. “Hamas sacrifices its own people — women, children, and the elderly as human shields — Hamas are not fanatical, they’re cowards.”
He noted that the progression of the Abraham Accords proves that things can be different in the new Middle East and that despite public backlash from many Arab leaders on Trump’s proposal for Gaza, it was still a positive image for many.
According to Lapid, after asking a leader of a Gulf State his thoughts on Trump’s plan, he expressed excitement. “We still have a lot of work to do, but I was excited that the President spoke about peace and prosperity and new opportunities, not only war and destruction. That’s what we need – an optimistic vision.”
Lapid said that with this, his daughter would never have to hide in the basement again.
Jesus Christ is King
