Israel is essential to the future of the Jewish people, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told gatherers at the closing ceremony of the Jewish People Policy's annual conference in Jerusalem Friday afternoon.

"After 2000 years the Jewish people has the strength to defend itself, thus defending the future of the Jewish people means ensuring Israeli security, " he told the crowd at the Israel Museum.

At the same time Netanyahu said he was willing to reach a peace deal with Israel's enemies that would involve painful compromises so long as it upheld Israel's citizens' rights to live without fear of harm.

On the issue of the delegitimization of Israel, which was heavily debated at the gathering, the prime minister said attacks on Israel were veiled attacks on Judaism.

"Anti-Israeli sentiment is the new Anti-Semitism," he said.

Netanyahu went on urging the world to respond to the perceived threat of Islamic fundamentalism. He warned that Iran had "spread its tentacles throughout the Middle East including Lebanon, Gaza, and Iraq –where the U.S. continues to remain active."

Chess was also on the agenda at the ceremony which marked the end of the three-day conference.

Jewish Agency for Israel Chairman Natan Sharansky congratulated Israeli grandmaster Alik Gershon for breaking a record previously held by an Iranian for most simultaneous games played.

"We defeated in Iran in the Guinness book and that's our first step," Sharansky, himself a big chess aficionado, said in jest.

Sharansky also commented on his organization's upcoming board meeting which needs to approve its suggested shift in focus from aliyah to Jewish education.

"There used to be a division between the Zionist notion that all Jews need to move to Israel and the non-Zionist notion that they can also stay and develop," he said. "Today we still encourage aliya but we recognize the Diaspora isn't going anywhere nor should it."

The Jewish People Policy Institute is a think tank founded in 2003 which holds an annual meeting in Jerusalem inviting academics, diplomats and journalists to discuss issues affecting the Jewish people in Israel and around the world.