Israel's UN Ambassador Ron Prosor told the UNGA "freedom is once again under attack." Photo: UN Photo/Evan Schneider.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor on Tuesday compared Islamic extremists to Nazi forces in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

“Freedom is once again under attack. The radical Islamists marching across the Middle East and North Africa are every bit as determined and dangerous as the Nazi forces that marched across Europe,” he said. “Seventy-five years ago men, women, and children were rounded up and murdered because of what they believed, where they came from, how they looked, and whom they loved.”

“The same crimes are taking place in the Middle East,” he added.

Prosor listed modern victims of such atrocities, including activists and political opponents, people hanged for their sexual preferences and Christians beheaded for their religious beliefs. He told the UNGA “evil is alive and well – and not just in the Middle East.” He urged the attendees to take action against the malice, saying, “Freedom is worth fighting for. Equality is worth fighting for. Democracy is worth fighting for.”

Prosor attributed the freedom enjoyed today in Europe to the “courage and determination” of the Allied forces in their fight against the Nazis. He noted that the gathered nations did not always agree, but “despite their political differences they knew that evil had to be stopped.”

For Jews and Israel, he said, World War II is “synonymous with the Holocaust.” He added that Jewish people have learned throughout history that their lives can never be entrusted to others. “We must always be able to defend ourselves by ourselves,” Prosor said.

“The State of Israel is a fulfillment to that promise,” he explained. “Never again will Jews be rounded up like cattle and marched to their death. Never again will the world think that Jews can be targeted with impunity.”