Netanyahu on Faith, Family, and the One Book Everyone Should Read

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently gave several interviews in which he spoke about his special relationship with the late Lubavitcher Rebbe. In a weekend interview with journalist Sharon Gal, he also shared personal reflections on faith.

At the beginning of the interview, Gal asked Netanyahu to name the three greatest books that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.

"Have you ever heard of the Bible?" Netanyahu replied without hesitation.

Gal smiled and responded, "Good for you for starting with that."

Netanyahu continued simply, "Start with the Bible."

Later in the interview, Gal asked the prime minister whether he was going through a process of becoming more religious.

"I don't need that," Netanyahu replied. "It comes from home. My grandfather was a rabbi. It has always been there as a foundation. I have tremendous respect for religion. Beyond that, there was one particular moment. After I instructed the IDF to prepare Operation Rising Lion, there was a meeting attended by the entire General Staff, the heads of the Mossad, and the relevant cabinet ministers. I gave the order to proceed with the operation, and at the end I said, 'May God help us.'"

"I felt an extraordinary sense of elevation," he continued. "There were both religious and secular people in the room, but I truly felt it. It was a defining moment."

When asked whether he believes the current war will eventually come to an end, Netanyahu responded:

"History doesn't really give you the vision of 'every man sitting under his vine and under his fig tree.' They will not beat their swords into plowshares so quickly. That will happen when the Messiah comes. Until then, we must keep our swords sharp while extending a hand of peace to those who genuinely want to live alongside us."