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Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara on Wednesday night, in New York, attended a Jewish Agency event to honor Natan Sharansky. Former US President George W. Bush was also in attendance.

Prime Minister Netanyahu:

“I believe that strong and sustained leadership in the West could win the Cold War few thought could be won. And in fact, that�s what we proceeded to do. Avital remembers this. We spoke with the administration of President Regan. I have to mention Secretary Schultz. He was magnificent, magnificent, Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick and many others. And I said to them, as did others: If you press hard enough, they will crack. Not everyone believed this. I remember Yelena Bonner, the wife of Andrei Sakharov, the great Sakharov. She said to me, Sakharov will die in prison.� I said, �No, he won�t. If you press them, they will crack and they will let out Sharansky and they will let out Sakharov and they will let out 400,000 Jews.� That�s the number I said. I�m glad my prediction proved wrong, because we got more than that, twice that.

If you press them, they will crack. That same faith should guide us today, because there�s another would-be empire in the Middle East. It too oppresses its people. It too terrorizes its neighbors. But it too has a hollow core. If you press them, they will crack. They will succumb to strong pressure from the free world. And that country is Iran, and Iran�s aggression must be stopped and can be stopped. If you want to honor Natan�s legacy, then support the brave men and women of Iran who are fighting for freedom, yearning for freedom, praying for freedom and praying for our support for their struggle. That�s the best way to honor Natan�s legacy.

Natan, thank you for your service to the Jewish state and thank you for your service for the cause of freedom.”

(YWN Israel Desk � Jerusalem/ photo credit: Haim Zach, GPO)