Israeli left-wing politicians lashed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday for comparing the current situation with Iran to that of the Jews during the Holocaust in a speech in Washington.

Netanyahu addressed the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee's audience to explain the similarities between Nazi Germany and Iran as a threat to the Jews.

He also stressed that his visit to Washington, where he met with U.S. President Barak Obama to discuss a strike on Iran, reminded him of the Jewish community pleading the United States to bomb the death camps during World War II.

"I don't like his repeated comparisons with the Holocaust. Israel is not Auschwitz," Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni said, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Meanwhile, left-wing party Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On accused Netanyahu of instilling fear into the public opinion.

"Israel is not about to be destroyed. Not every enemy is Hitler and not every problem is Auschwitz. With his crazy analogies, the prime minister is diverting attention from Iran to his fear- mongering," Gal-On said.

During his speech, Netanyahu stressed the need to prevent a situation like during the Nazi era. "Israel has patiently waited for the international community to resolve this issue. We've waited for diplomacy to work. We've waited for sanctions to work. None of us can afford to wait much longer," he said during Tuesday 's AIPAC conference.

Obama, who said that he prefers a diplomatic approach, appealed to Israel to allow economic sanctions to further isolate Iran rather than a preventive strike to deter the Islamic republic from obtaining nuclear weaponry.