Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu urged Jewish unity on Sunday, in his annual greetings ahead of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). 

‘Shana Tova to all of you from our eternal capital, Jerusalem,” he began. 

“Since last Rosh Hashanah, it has become obvious to all but the most bigoted and prejudiced that Israel stands out like a beacon of progress, of modernity, of democracy, of human rights, in a region plagued by fanaticism, by terror, of unbelievable savagery,” he said. “I said that it’s obvious to everyone but the most bigoted; we have those people who are leveling the most slanderous charges against the one and only Jewish state, the only democracy in the Middle East.” 

“And we have to repel those slanders,” he urged. “We do that together as we build our Jewish state – because we’re united, proud of our past, committed in our future.” 

“I ask this Rosh Hashanah to join with all Israelis, with friends of Israel, with the Jewish people everywhere, in wishing for a better future – for the world, for the Middle East, and most importantly, for the one and only Jewish state.”