The Times of Israel / August 12, 2025,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells i24 TV news that he feels he is on a “historic and spiritual mission,” and that he is “very” attached to the vision of the Promised Land and Greater Israel.
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The interviewer Sharon Gal, who was briefly a right-wing member of Knesset, gifts to Netanyahu near the end of their interview what he says is an amulet of “a map of the Promised Land.”
“This is my vision,” says Gal. He jokes that he does not want to further “entangle” Netanyahu in the case against the premier for allegedly receiving jewellery and other luxury goods from several businessmen for him and his wife Sara, but also says he would like Netanyahu to give the amulet to Sara. “Thank you,” says Netanyahu.
“Do you connect to the vision?” Gal asks Netanyahu.
“Very much,” the prime minister replies.
“Really?” asks Gal.
“Very much,” Netanyahu repeats.
“It is Greater Israel,” Gal stresses.
“If you ask me, we are here,” responds Netanyahu, then pauses, then continues, “You know I often mention my father. My parents’ generation had to establish the state. And our generation, my generation, has to guarantee its continued existence. And I see that as a great mission.” He then moves on to discuss the sense of mission among Israelis today, highlighting that sense of purpose among soldiers, including reservists and their wives.
The amulet itself does not appear on the screen.
The exchange is cut from the video of the interview posted by i24 on its Youtube site in Hebrew, and does not appear, either, in a shorter version of the interview on i24’s English Youtube site. It appears on i24’s own Hebrew website (beginning at 31:14).
The term Greater Israel was used after the Six Day War of June 1967 to refer to Israel and the areas it had just conquered — East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights.
The phrase was also used by some early Zionists, including Ze’ev Jabotinsky, forerunner of Netanyahu’s Likud party, to refer to present-day Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, and present-day Jordan.
Gal’s question about his connection to the “vision” of the Promised Land and Greater Israel comes after he asks the premier if he feels he is on a mission on behalf of the Jewish people. Netanyahu answers that he is “on a mission of generations — there are generations of Jews that dreamt of coming here and generations of Jews who will come after us.”
“So if you’re asking if I have a sense of mission, historically and spiritually, the answer is yes,” he says.
