Below are the remarks that Tom Rose delivered during the Values Voter Summit Breakout Session, "Irreconcilable Differences: Can Anything Bridge the Interests of the United States, Israel and Iran?"
74 years ago this morning German military police occupying Kiev, then the 3rd largest city in the Soviet Union, posted an order issued by the unit commander of Einsatzgruppen Task Force C -- It read "Jews of Kiev; You are to appear at the Melnitkova Street entrance to the Jewish cemetery with your possessions, money, valuables and warm clothing by 7:00 AM. Jews failing to appear will be shot."
Most of the Jews still left in Kiev -- more than 100,000 managed to flee -- those who were either too old, too sick, or too young to escape the advancing German army -- appeared as ordered on a delightfully warm, cloud free late September morning. They were marched 14 miles to a large ravine northwest of town known as "Babi Yar". There, they were forced to undress, leaving their clothes and possessions in marked piles until completely naked.
At gun point, Nazi guards forced them to run to bottom of the ravine -- there, three 12-man SS mobile killing squads were waiting.
It was there -- Husbands with wives, brothers with sisters, mothers with daughters and fathers with sons -- were forced to lie face down on top of the bodies shot before them, then they too were shot with a single bullet to back of the neck. Ukrainian auxiliaries combed through the pits with heavy shovels looking for survivors to bludgeon. To save bullets, infants and small children were thrown into the giant pit and buried alive together with the others.
Late the following afternoon, the Einstatzgruppen Task Force Commander Freideric Jeckeln reported to headquarters that his two-day "action" resulted in 33,771 Jews having been "successfully evacuated".
75 years ago, the Jews of Europe faced annihilation -- powerless, voiceless and friendless. They knew what was coming -- they saw what was coming. Because they had no power, no voice and no friends to speak of, they had no way to alter what was coming.
Today, the Jewish state faces a threat of annihilation no less genocidal than the Jews of Europe faced -- ponder this --
Hitler never openly proclaimed his goal of exterminating the Jewish people. Today's enemy does.
Hitler never openly conducted mass terror attacks against Americans or American interests. Today's enemy does and has for 35 years.
There were no Death to America rallies in Germany before the war. Today's enemy holds them weekly.
75 years ago, Hitler was dismissed as the Jews problem, today, Iran is dismissed as Israel's problem.
75 years ago, Nazi Germany sought to become the sole dominate power, first in Europe and then elsewhere. Today's enemy seeks identical positions of dominance in the Middle East and Muslim world.
75 years ago, America and Britain defeated Hitler before he could get nuclear weapons -- two months ago, those very same two nations, together with others, signed a deal insuring that today's enemy gets those very weapons.
But that is where the similarities between 1940 and 2015 end:
Unlike 75 years ago, today, the Jewish people are not powerless. Unlike 75 years ago, today's Jewish people are not voiceless and -- as evidenced by this magnificent gathering; today's Jewish people are not friendless. What does Israel mean to us? Israel means never again will the Jewish people be unable to defend ourselves; never again will be unable to speak for ourselves. Israel means our Jewish voices will be heard, no matter what others might think; no matter what others might say.
Israel means that we Jews are again a people of faith, not fate. That we are choosers, not victims; that together with the Almighty, we will be pursue our own destiny. Israel means never again will the Jewish people be swept or tempest tossed by the winds or whims of circumstance
No -- Today's threat will be met; today's threat will be faced and today's threat will be defeated. It will be defeated by a Jewish state confident enough, courageous enough and powerful enough to defend itself by itself.
Israel can not accept a nuclear Iran for the simple reason that if gets nuclear weapons, Iran will use nuclear weapons.
I'm afraid the only option remaining is a military one -- and it comes with great peril, and great risk. Those who support the so called "deal" which guarantees the world's most dangerous weapons to the world's most dangerous regime have 3 main arguments -- all defeatist and passive in substance -- you've heard them all before -- but here they are.
- The Genie's out of the bottle; "Iran has mastered the fuel cycle", they say. "There's no going back". Perhaps. But knowing how to fly a plane doesn't mean much if you don't have a plane. It has taken Iran decades to build its nuclear infrastructure -- it does not have the resources nor capacity to rapidly reassemble that capability.
- A military strike will only set Iran back a few years -- this point is probably true -- but misses the point. In a battle for survival, time is everything. If it appears that Iran is subsequently able to reconstitute its industrial scale nuclear capacity in one, three or five years, they will just have to be hit again in one, three, or five years.
- It's not possible to denuclearize without war -- again, the apologists are probably right -- but again, they miss the point. While war of some kind is now almost a certainty, it isn't because peacefully de-nuclearizing a radical regime is impossible -- it is not impossible. It has been done -- in the Middle East; not just once -- but at least five times since 1981.
- Iraq 1981 Israel took out the Osirak reactor near Baghdad
- Iraq 1991 US forces destroyed Saddam's rebuilt nuclear program following the first Gulf War.
- Libya 2003 Muamar Gaddafi voluntarily relinquished his surprisingly advanced nuclear program in exchange for recognition and cooperation with the US
- Believe it or not, Iran itself -- in 2003 suspended its own weaponization and weapons design programs -- albeit not its enrichment activities -- after it noticed 150,000 of America's finest stationed right next door in Iraq.
- Syria 2007 Israel struck and destroyed a secret nuclear reactor built and operated by North Korea against the strong warnings of the United States and President Bush
Many friends of Israel ask, 'can Israel go it alone?' Good question. The answer is yes, of course Israel can go it alone, and if forced to, it will go it alone. Israel has two choices, one of which is no choice at all. Israel can either act to prevent a nuclear Iran or be destroyed by a nuclear Iran.
Israel's only real dilemmas are timing and tactics.
- If Israel can't destroy Iran's program outright, it can disable above ground conversion facilities at Isfahan, Natanz and the heavy water reactor at Arak.
While we don't know with certainty what Iran's response will be, we do know with certainty there will be a response. A heavy one. Many people will die. Many of us, and many more of them. But Israel will be ready -- and so my friends -- must we be.
Mark Twain said "all things are mortal but the Jew". "The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed; made a vast noise, but they too are gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high, but it burned out. The Jew somehow survived them all. All other forces pass, but the Jew remains."
Today, Israel has a powerful army, a powerful voice and we have you. Good, powerful friends. Never before have the Jewish people had so many good friends. We are used to having enemies. It's the friends that throw us for a loop. We've never had them before. Ever.
I know of no greater friend, no more loyal, reliable, tireless defender and protector of liberty at home and the State of Israel than your very own Gary Bauer. Will you please join with me in thanking this Lion of Judah who has earned the eternal gratitude and a permanent place in the memory of God's eternal people.
In the spirit of the timeless words spoken to Joshua over 3,000 years ago, "let us be strong and of good courage. Let us fight bravely and May the Lord do what is good in his sight."
Together we can defeat this peril, secure our future and protect liberty for generations to come.
