Badie's first public address, following his selection as leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in January, 2010, offered relatively moderate words about the organization's role in Egyptian society and its attitude towards the government. His stance towards Israel, "the Zionist entity," and the American presence in the region, however, is uncompromising. Badie called for "continuous jihad to liberate the nation from any foreign dominance or intellectual, spiritual, cultural hegemony and economic, political or military colonialism." In his view, "The Zionist state seeks the abolition and cancellation of our values, cultures and Islamic identity for its western values, which seeks the destruction of our faith and morals in our countries." Badie describes the struggle against Israel as a "priority" for the Brotherhood and he expands on what this entails: