Sylvan Adams, President of the World Jewish Congress Israel, and Ambassador Ron Dermer, former Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs, on Tuesday called for Israel to deploy its intelligence, cyber and strategic capabilities against what Adams described as a “global war" against the Jewish people, speaking alongside former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer at a major Los Angeles event focused on taking a stand against antisemitism, Iran and Israel’s changing strategic position.

The event, “Unite. Lead. Fight. - A Conversation with Ambassador Ron Dermer & Sylvan Adams," was organized by IAC Los Angeles and attended by Jewish college students. It was a stop on Dermer’s Unite. Lead. Fight. North American tour.

Adams and Dermer said Israel’s military achievements against Iran and its regional enemies had demonstrated the power of the Jewish state and argued that the same capabilities must now be brought into the global fight against antisemitism.

“This is a global war. It is a war being fought without bullets, but it is a war, and we do need to wake up and treat it as such, and deploy our formidable resources in fighting this war, and at the same time show solidarity with Jews in the Diaspora," Adams said.

“This is a threat to all Jews’ existence, including the State of Israel. Worldwide antisemitism is not organic. It is well funded, extremely well funded. It is also a threat to the State of Israel."

Adams, the son of Holocaust survivors, said the eruption of antisemitism immediately following October 7 had overturned assumptions he had held for decades.

“I had thought that ‘Never Again’ really meant never again. I thought that antisemitism was a fringe movement of extreme far-right neo-Nazi types, and I have to say I was completely wrong about that," he said.

Dermer said Jewish sovereignty had not eliminated antisemitism, but had transformed the Jewish people’s ability to confront it.

“Israel is not the cause or the cure for antisemitism. Israel just gave the Jewish people the power to fight back," Dermer said.

He called for Israel to bring state capabilities directly into the fight.

“Just like there is a war room in Israel dealing with Iran and dealing with Lebanon and dealing with Syria and dealing with Gaza, there has to be a war room that is focused on the war against the Jews," Dermer said. “When Israel was established in 1948, we were five percent of the world’s Jews. We’re closing in on 50 percent of the world’s Jews. With that power comes a responsibility, and we have to be in this fight."

Adams said Israel’s ability to assume that responsibility had been demonstrated by its military response since October 7.

“The trust was broken on October 7, but then we fought," Adams said. “We have fought back courageously, and also with amazing technological feats that sounded like science fiction, but still sound like science fiction, including the pagers in Lebanon and the way we took out all of Iran’s facilities in both campaigns."

Dermer argued that Israel had emerged from the past three years in a far stronger strategic position, citing the weakening of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, the degradation of its proxies including Hamas and Hezbollah and the fall of the Assad regime.

On Iran, he said the strategic opportunity lies with the Iranian people themselves.

“The people of Iran want to be free. They are our partners, and we have to support them," Dermer said. “When this regime falls, within five seconds, they’re going to join the Abraham Accords. Maybe they’ll call it the Cyrus Accords, and Iran is going to be the most important partner for Israel in the Middle East."

The discussion also addressed the future of the U.S.-Israel alliance, with Dermer arguing that Israel’s military, intelligence, cyber and technological capabilities would make it increasingly important to Washington.

“If you are the President of the United States, and you want to strengthen America for the next 50 years, your number one ally in the world is Israel," he said.

Adams and Dermer also rejected accusations that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.

“If this is the way we commit genocide, we are the most incompetent army in the entire world," Adams said. “The population of Gaza has grown over the last three years. By way of comparison, the world Jewish population has not recovered its numbers from 1938."

Dermer warned that the genocide accusation was not only an attack on Israel, but also endangers Jews across the world who support the Jewish state.

He called on Jewish organizations to respond more forcefully to antisemitism and to be willing to fight even when success is not guaranteed.

“The enemies of the Jews have to understand if you go after us, there’s going to be a price," Dermer said. “We’re going to lose battles. But in fighting those battles, we will restore deterrence."

Adams said Israel now has both the strength and the responsibility to act.

“We do need to wake up and treat it as a war," he said, “and deploy our formidable resources in fighting this war."