Netanyahu: Global antisemitism follows centuries-long pattern, we must 'fight, fight, fight'

The new wave of antisemitism sweeping the United States and Europe is part of a centuries-long pattern of hatred against Jews, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns Jewish leaders at the opening of the 51st annual Conference of Presidents Leadership Mission to Israel.

The only effective response is organized, confident resistance anchored by a strong Jewish state, he says.

Recent attacks, intimidation, and vilification of Jews on campuses and in public life should be understood in the context of Jewish history — since exile from the Jews’ ancestral land, Netanyahu says.

He describes a recurring cycle in which Jews, often “prominent and weak” in host societies, became targets of envy and conspiracy theories. From accusations of poisoning wells and spreading disease to medieval blood libels and Nazi propaganda, the demonization of Jews has almost always preceded physical attacks, pogroms, mass expulsions, or mass murder, he says.

The “great change in Jewish history” came with the creation of the State of Israel, which transformed the Jews from a dispersed and vulnerable minority into a people with the capacity to defend themselves, he adds.

“On October 7, they thought they’d do a Holocaust on us. That was the goal. If they could get away with it, they’d murder every last person — every last woman, child, infant that they could. Which is what they did. But we rolled them back after day one. With horrible consequences — we lost 1,200 innocent people,” he says.

“In the Holocaust, October 7 happened every day, [the equivalent of] 5,000 times,” Netanyahu says. “We don’t let a day of such tragedy go by. We rolled back our enemies. We’re in the process of destroying the remainder of that terror axis. We can fight back.”

Netanyahu refers to right-wing influencer Tucker Carlson as “the Father Coughlin of our age,” referring to Father Charles Coughlin, a popular radio priest in pre–World War II America known for his antisemitic broadcasts.

Calling on Jewish communities worldwide “not to cower” but to “fight back” in the media, digital and political arenas, he says, “The first requirement to defeat antisemitism is to fight antisemitism. It’s the only way. Fight, fight, fight.”

???????????????? Netanyahu: “Minorities, whether it’s Blacks or gays or women, fought back.

And what we have to do as Jews, both here in Israel and in the various Jewish communities around the world, beginning with the United States, is to fight back.“ https://t.co/cpaKI1YUr5 pic.twitter.com/7lFoL7PXpW

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) February 15, 2026

Conference of Presidents CEO William Daroff adds, following Netanyahu’s speech: “What stopped Father Coughlin was when the Catholic Church, which had supported him, stood up and stopped him and called him out. Today, the American conservative movement should do exactly the same as was done to Father Coughlin, which is to call out public policy and condemn.”