Netanyahu to Holocaust survivors: Jews will stand alone if we must

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

In a meeting in Jerusalem with Holocaust survivors, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Jews “will stand alone” if they must.

“If it is possible to get the help of the Gentiles, I am always in favor,” he says, after citing one of the survivors who warned that Jews should not pin their hopes for safety on “Gentiles who make promises.”

Netanyahu says that US President Franklin Roosevelt refused to risk even one pilot to try to get in the way of the killing of Jews in Auschwitz, and alleges that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill tried to get his air force to bomb the death camp, but was opposed by the military command.

“If we have to stand alone – we stand alone,” says Netanyahu. “If it is possible to recruit the Gentiles – great. But if we don’t protect ourselves, no one will protect us.”

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