Amb. Ron Dermer delivers “Churchill and Israel” address at Churchill Museum in Missouri

His Excellency Ron Dermer, the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, was the keynote speaker for Churchill Fellows Weekend, held March 24-25 at the National Churchill Museum at Westminster College in Fulton Missouri.

Ambassador Dermer delivered the Enid and R. Crosby Kemper Lecture on the topic of “Churchill and Israel” in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury on Sunday afternoon, March 25:

As Churchill foresaw, the Jewish state has become a powerful force for civilization and for good.

During the Cold War, Israel stood firmly on the right side of the Iron Curtain.

And for decades, Israel has bravely manned the frontlines in the fight against militant Islam, safeguarding freedom in the most dangerous region on earth.

As the Ayatollah regime tries to lower an Iranian curtain from Tehran to Tartus, from the Caspian to the Mediterranean, Israel stands strong.

And as the tentacles of global terrorism spread across the world, Israel’s intelligence services are foiling major terrorist attacks in dozens of countries on five continents.

But it is not just by repelling darkness that Israel lights the world.

This year, Israel celebrates 70 years of Independence.

Churchill would be proud of the remarkable state we have become, a beacon of freedom, progress and hope.

If Winston Churchill returned to Israel today, he would see that the hopes he expressed when he planted that tree in Jerusalem nearly a century ago are being realized.

The full text of the speech can be found on the Ambassadors Facebook page.

The Center for Security Policy was honored to bestow its 2016 Freedom Flame award upon Ambassador Dermer at a ceremony in New York City. Video and transcript from the 2016 Freedom Flame can be found here.