Speaking at the opening gala of the WJC’s 17th Plenary Assembly in Jerusalem, Sylvan Adams, the newly appointed World Jewish Congress Israel Region chair, warned about the threat posed by Iran and the dangers of renewed diplomatic appeasement, calling for Jewish unity, bold leadership, and strategic action.
At the event, held at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem on Sunday, Adams addressed the urgent need for a decisive stance on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“We must not end up with another Obama-like Iran nuclear deal that leaves this problem to a future American administration.
“If Iran refuses to eliminate its uranium enrichment, then we – Israel, together with the United States – must end their nuclear program with a committed bombing campaign. Iran has never been weaker, thanks to Israel. But their strategy of delay and obfuscation must not succeed.”
Adams also criticized Qatar for supporting Hamas and its propaganda networks.
New initiative to promote aliyah
“Qatar is not our friend. It shelters the Hamas billionaires who planned October 7. If they wanted peace, they would hand them over and begin real hostage negotiations.”
Adams spoke alongside US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who delivered his first public remarks since President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East last week.
“The president is very clear. Iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon. They are not going to enrich. They are going to have total dismantlement, and those are the words that he has said.
“So, whatever they are discussing, those are the criteria that the president has set forth. Even if they said they agree to it – do we believe them? That becomes the next big question. Do we believe them? They haven’t kept anything they’ve said for 46 years.”
Adams also unveiled a new initiative to promote aliyah.
“I am proud to announce a bold and visionary goal: to promote the aliyah of one million Jews to the State of Israel. Just as we welcomed a million Jews from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s, we will once again reinvigorate our homeland. The purest form of Zionism is expressed with one’s feet,” Adams said.
“WJC Israel is committed to turning that expression into reality.”
Later in the evening, Adams and Huckabee presented a special Israeli Resilience Award to freed hostages Tal Shoham, his wife, Adi, and their children, Yahel and Naveh.
Adams closed his speech with a rallying cry for global Jewish unity.
“Together, we can face and overcome the many battles being waged against us: the war in Gaza, the existential threat from Iran and its proxies, the global rise in antisemitism, and the insidious spread of propaganda and disinformation.
“We are one people – Am Yisrael. Division only empowers our enemies. But united, we are unstoppable.”