In a dramatic foreign policy development, Israel’s Deputy FM instructed Israeli envoys to invoke the Jews’ biblical right to the entire Land of Israel.
Israel’s newly appointed Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely told Israeli diplomats to use the Torah (Jewish bible) as a reference point for the rights of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel.
In a video broadcast from Jerusalem, Hotovely addressed Israel’s foreign ministry envoys in over 100 foreign countries.
While the landmark speech was a bit shocking within Israel’s Foreign Ministry, there is strong support from many Israelis who believe that this approach has been long overdue.
“It is important to say that this land is ours, all of it is ours. We didn’t come here to apologize for this,” she said.
Hotovely is a strong proponent of complete Jewish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, the biblical heartland of Israel.
“The international community deals with considerations of morality and justice. Facing this, we have to return to the basic truth of our right to this land,” Hotovely said.
She quoted the famous Jewish scholar Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, circa 1040 CE) from his famous commentary to the biblical book of Genesis.
In one of Rashi’s most famous pieces, he explained that the bible begins with the creation of the world so that if foreign nations would ever accuse the Jews of stealing the Land of Israel, the Jews would have the following response.
‘Since the entire world belongs to God, only He can choose to whom the Land of Israel will be given. And God chose to give it to the Jewish people’.
Since billions of people around the world believe in the authenticity of the Hebrew bible, including Jews, Christians and Muslims, this approach may be Israel’s most effective tool to claim complete sovereignty in its ancient homeland.
by United with Israel staff with files from Israel National News