The full speech of U.S. President Donald Trump to Israel’s Knesset on Oct. 13 is available from the Times of Israel. Trump was greeted by a standing ovation, of which there were several, and a brief interruption from two members from the Hadash-Ta’al party, one of whom was holding a sign urging “Recognize Palestine.” What follows is excerpts from President Trump’s speech:
“Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Speaker, esteemed members of the Knesset and cherished citizens of Israel, we gather on a day of profound joy, of soaring hope, of renewed faith, and above all, a day to give our deepest thanks to the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. [standing ovation]
“After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families, and it is glorious. 28 more precious loved ones are coming home at last to rest in this sacred soil for all of time….
“This is not only the end of a war, this is the end of an age of terror and death, and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God. It’s the start of a grand concord and lasting harmony for Israel and all the nations of what will soon be a truly magnificent region. I believe that so strongly. This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.
“I want to express my gratitude to a man of exceptional courage and patriotism, whose partnership did so much to make this momentous day possible. You know who I’m talking about. There’s only one, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Bibi, please stand up.
“And he is not easy, I want to tell you. He’s not the easiest guy to deal with, but that’s what makes him great. That’s what makes him great. Thank you very much, Bibi. Great job.
“And let me also convey my tremendous appreciation for all of the nations of the Arab and Muslim world that came together to press Hamas to set the hostages free and to send them home. We had a lot of help. We had a lot of help from a lot of people that you wouldn’t suspect, and I want to thank them very much for that.
“It’s an incredible triumph for Israel and the world to have all of these nations working together as partners in peace. And it’s pretty unusual for you to see that. But it happened in this case. This was a very unusual point in time, a brilliant point in time. Generations from now, this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change, and change very much for the better....”
Trump thanked Steve Witkoff at length and talked about sending him to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin; he thanked Jared Kushner, Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth:
“But when you settle eight wars in eight months, that means you don’t like war. Everyone thought I was gonna be brutal. In fact, I remember Hillary Clinton during a debate, she said, ‘Look at him. Look at him, he’s gonna go to war with everybody.’ And actually, she said, ‘He’s got a personality, it’s all about war.’ No, and my personality actually is all about stopping wars, and it seems to work. It seems to work....
“The cruelty of October 7th struck to the core of humanity itself. Nobody could believe what they were witnessing. The United States of America grieved alongside you, and we mourn for our own citizens who were so viciously taken that day. And to all the families whose lives were forever changed by the atrocities of that day, and all of the people of Israel, please know that America joins you in those two everlasting vows, ‘Never Forget, and Never Again.’
“From October 7th until this week, Israel has been a nation at war, enduring burdens that only a proud and faithful people could withstand. It was a very tough period of time for so many families across this land, it has been years since you’ve known a single day of true peace.
“But now, at last, not only for Israelis, but also for Palestinians, and for many others, the long and painful nightmare is finally over. And as the dust settles, the smoke fades, the debris is removed, and the ashes cleaned from the air, the day that breaks on a region transformed and a beautiful and much brighter future, appears suddenly within your reach….
“A new coalition of proud and responsible nations is emerging. And because of us, the enemies of all civilization are in retreat. Thanks to the bravery and incredible skill of the Israeli Defense Forces and Operation Rising Lion. You know, [points to IDF Chief Eyal Zamir] the guy’s central casting. Let’s put him in a movie. Look at him. Great job. And my people loved working with you. Loved it. They worked so well together.
“But many of Iran’s top terrorists, including nuclear scientists and commanders, have been extinguished from this Earth. And with Operation Midnight Hammer—boy, that’s a great name for that, what we did—last June, the United States military flew seven of those beautiful B-2 bombers. They looked so beautiful all of a sudden….
“So we dropped 14 bombs on Iran’s key nuclear facilities—totally, as I said originally, obliterating them. And that’s been confirmed, and everybody understands it. Together, we stopped the number one state sponsor of terror from obtaining the world’s most dangerous weapons. And if you think about it, if we didn’t do that, and assuming we made the same deal that we have today, there’d be a dark cloud over this deal….
“They took a big hit, didn’t they? Didn’t they take a big hit? Boy, oh, boy. They got hit from one side, from the other. And you know what would be great? If we could make a peace deal with them, and I think that’s big. Would you be happy with that? Wouldn’t it be nice? You think? Because I think they want to. I think they’re tired….
“And with this week’s ceasefire, we’ve achieved the most challenging breakthrough of them all, the most challenging breakthrough maybe ever. I mean, I’ve never seen anything like … I’ve been involved in a lot of success. I have never seen anything like what’s going on today all over the world. People are dancing in the streets, not just in Israel. They’re dancing in the streets of countries that would’ve never danced in the street about what’s happening today. They’re dancing in those streets.…
“Mr. opposition leader [Yair Lapid]. He’s, I say, he’s a very nice opposition leader, I think. No, he’s a nice man. Bibi, he’s a nice man. Good. He knows what he’s doing, right? Nah, a very nice guy. Now you can be a little bit nicer, Bibi, because you’re not at war anymore, Bibi….
“Like, you’ve made a lot of, you’ve come back, you’ve come back strong, because it was getting to be a little nasty out there in the world. And ultimately the world wins. You can’t beat the world, or, I would say to Bibi, ‘Bibi, it’s now time.’ And he understood it better than anybody….
“The timing of this is brilliant. And I said, ‘Bibi, you’re gonna be remembered for this far more than if you kept this thing going, going, going; kill, kill, kill. It would not be the same.’
“And I just want to congratulate you for having the courage to say, ‘That’s it. We’ve won and now let’s enjoy our lives, and let’s rebuild Israel, and make it stronger, and bigger and better than it’s ever been before. We’re gonna do that.’ Took a lot of guts….
