Fmr PM Naftali Bennett tells THE ROSENBERG REPORT: Israel’s rebirth is fulfillment of Ezekiel 37 prophecies

Fmr PM Naftali Bennett tells THE ROSENBERG REPORT: Israel’s rebirth is fulfillment of Ezekiel 37 prophecies, it’s time to get tougher with Iran, and two-state solution blew up in our faces twice

Joel C. Rosenberg

 Israelis this week have been celebrating the 76th anniversary of the Jewish state’s modern rebirth in May 1948.

We are also grieving the death and the wounding of so many of our fellow citizens this year, as well as the 253 who were taken captive by Hamas.

What does it all mean?

Where is this all going?

To better understand Israel’s past, present, and future, I reached out to former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to get his views

After all, Bennett is one of the most compelling – and controversial – leaders in Israel today.

He made history in June 2021 by becoming the country’s first Orthodox Jewish, kippah-wearing, kosher-keeping, religious prime minister.

Since the founding of the state in 1948, not a single other premier has been religious and openly so.

The first question I asked Bennett is whether he believes that modern-day Israel is a fulfillment of ancient Biblical prophecies.

After all, I noted that not every Israeli does.

The country was founded by atheists, agnostics, and far-left socialists.

Even today, many Israelis are quite secular and think little – if at all – about the Bible or the ancient Hebrew prophets.

“I absolutely see a connection between our ancient past, our biblical past and our present and future as an eternal chain to the Jewish people and the land of the Jewish people,” he told me as we sat for the interview in his backyard.

“I see a continuity between Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses, Joshua, King David,” he added. “And then during the First and Second Temple, later in the diaspora for 2,000 years, we were praying for our home three times a day. All the Jews prayed to come back to Jerusalem. And then, indeed, the return of Jews from all across the world. That's precisely what's in the Bible.”

He added, “I think that modern-day Israel is the beauty of both modernity that gets intertwined with our biblical roots and our destiny.”

Later in the interview, he told me that he believes Israel is specifically the fulfillment of the prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the “Valley of Dry Bones,” found in Ezekiel 37.

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