Agencia Judia de Noticias

Netanyahu: Fidel Castro deeply understands Jewish history

AJN .- The Prime Minister and President Peres expressed appreciation for the sayings of former Cuban president, who said Israel "without doubt" has the right to exist. "If I were there and had to reason about Israeli issues, remember that six million Jews, men and women of all ages, were exterminated in concentration camps," said Castro.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his appreciation yesterday for the statements issued by the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, who said Israel has a right to exist, in an interview.

"Castro's comments showed his deep understanding of the history of the Jewish people and the State of Israel," Netanyahu said.

In an interview published on Wednesday, the former Cuban president answered Jeffery Glodberg, the reporter for The Atlantic, who, when asked if Israel had a right to exist as a Jewish state: "Yes, without doubt."

Later, Goldberg asked if Raul Castro, Cuba's current president and brother of Fidel, re-establishes relations with Israel. He replied that "these things take time."

Castro referred to the Holocaust in the interview and said: "Imagine I am Netanyahu. If you were there and had to reason about Israeli issues, remember that six million Jews, men and women of all ages, were exterminated in concentration camps. "

Israeli President Shimon Peres, also referred to Castro's comments and said the Cuban leader's support for Israel "had moved him very much."

"I must confess that his words were, in my opinion, unexpected and spread with a unique intellectual depth," wrote the president in a message to Castro.

Peres compared Israel with Cuba in a desire for peace and said: "Cuba is an island, surrounded by water. Israel is a political island, surrounded by threats. You tried to navigate large seas, to show that a small geographical size need not reflect the littleness of man, and we are trying to prove that small political size should not reflect the size of our values. Therefore, we see our neighbors as friends and the better things get for them the better it will be for us. "

"Your words had an unexpected bridge between the harsh reality and a new horizon. Thank you very much, from the bottom of my heart. You showed that even those who are distant to one, may be nearby," he continued.

In an interview before Goldberg's, Castro asked the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to stop defaming Jews.

 Google translation.