Posted on 04/28/25
Jerusalem, Israel - April 28, 2025 - The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) hosted its inaugural JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem, Israel, on Sunday-Monday, April 27-28, 2025, at the Waldorf Hotel with a thousand attendees.
Keynote speaker, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke in the evening, on Iran enriching uranium “for one reason and one reason only,” he stated: “to make nuclear weapons, which they intend to use to destroy my country – and [to] threaten America once they have weapons, Ballistic missiles, ICBMs, they will threaten every city in the United States. That is a palpable danger to Israel and the free world.
“The way to prevent it is to dismantle all the infrastructure of Iran's nuclear program,” he stated. A deal that comes short of that is insufficient – “a bad deal is worse than no deal. We need a good deal. And the only good deal that works is one like the one made with Libya that removed all the infrastructure.”
His keynote address covered in great detail the tragedies of October 7th, Israel’s subsequent response, and the future of the Jewish State’s place in the Middle East and the broader world. Also, many aspects of Israel’s military and diplomatic achievements over the past year and a half, from the now-fabled beeper operation crippling Hezbollah, to the strike eliminating Nasrallah, to the lightning-fast eradication of Syrian military infrastructure and threats were mentioned.
The schedule was packed each day with international speakers and expert panel discussions. Selecting one session to attend out of three impressive sessions running simultaneously was often a challenge. Regional and International topics on security and sovereignty, countering antisemitism, policy, and diplomacy were explored.
JNS founders, Amelia and Josh Katzen, spoke briefly on the first day. JNS CEO Alex Traiman and Summit Chairman Richard D. Heideman moderated much of the two-day program.
JNS staff participating included Ruthie Blum, Amb Mark Regev, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Josh Hasten, and Steve Linde.
Israeli Ministers and Knesset Members participating on the first day included Miki Zohar, Minister of Culture and Sport, Gideon Sa'ar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Amb. Danny Danon. Ambassadors to Israel were also interviewed.
British barrister Natasha Hausdorff discussed "The UN and International Courts: Law, Legitimacy, and Bias" in her usual sharp and clear style.
The photo essay includes many sessions with the names in the background, as there were too many to include in this summary.
There was a livestream for the plenary meetings, now available on YouTube.
