Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he considers himself to be on a “historic and spiritual mission” and that he is “very” connected to the idea of “Greater Israel,” a vision for significant Israeli territorial expansion in the region.
In the modern political context, Greater Israel could refer to Israel taking complete control of Gaza, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. But for more ideological Zionists, including members of Netanyahu’s government, Greater Israel means Israeli expansion into Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, based on a biblical interpretation.
Netanyahu made the comments to Israel’s i24 when the interviewer gifted him an amulet showing “Greater Israel.” According to The Times of Israel, the amulet was not shown on camera, so it’s unclear how far it depicts Israel’s territory extending. But the Israeli leader was asked if he felt a connection to the expansionist vision and answered, “very much.”
Netanyahu has previously displayed maps that show the West Bank and Gaza as part of Israel, including when addressing the UN just weeks before October 7. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich caused controversy in 2023 when he spoke at an event that displayed a map of Greater Israel that included Jordan.
Smotrich, who has significant power in the current Israeli government, said in an interview for a documentary produced by Arte, a European public service channel, that Israel would take territory in Arab countries “little by little” and said that “it is written that the future of Jerusalem is to expand to Damascus.”
Netanyahu was also asked in the i24 interview if he felt that he was on a mission for the “Jewish people” and said he was “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.”
