PRÉCIS ON BENJAMIN NETANYAHU’S “GREATER ISRAEL” MOVEMENT: FOLLOWUP ON THE PRINCIPLE OF THE REMNANT IN EXTREMIS (WITH VIDEO)

SCRIPTURE. “I say then, has God rejected and disowned His people? Certainly not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His [chosen] people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? ^‘Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left [of the prophets], and they are seeking my life.’

But what is God’s response to him? ‘I have KEPT FOR MYSELF seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. So too then, at the present time there has come to be A REMNANT [a small believing minority] according to God’s gracious choice.’” – ROMANS 11:1-5, AMP

KEY TERM: “KEPT.” ‘Kataleipó’ [Κατέλιπον]: “To leave down or behind; to have remaining; to reserve.” NOTE: “Strong’s 2641 pictures an act of leaving that can be Positive (entrusting, prioritizing) or Negative (neglecting, forsaking). ‘Its Range: Stretches from Domestic Transitions (“leave father and mother”) to grave Warnings about Apostasy (“left the straight way”), and from Strategic Ministry Decisions (“be left in Athens”) to God’s gracious Preservation of a REMNANT (“I have left for Myself seven thousand men. ‘Across the New Testament the verb consistently highlights DECISIVE SEPARATOIN that serves a Higher Purpose—whether Righteous or Unrighteous.’”

NOTE. Though the Bible is not explicit about the number of Jews living during ELIJAH’S TIME (900-849 BC), most historians estimate that there were as many as 1,000,000. So “7,000 Faithful” is .007% of the total Jewish population. Now then, most estimates of America’s Professing White Christians in the Year 2026 is about 100,000,000. Taking .007% of that means: The AMERICAN REMNANT would consist of only 700,000 Faithful Servants of the Lord Christ if He were to Return now. Selah.

QUOTATION. “I am going to show you great and mighty things which no one has ever seen before … I am going to take you places where no one has ever been. I am going to take you to heights where no one has ever reached. ‘If you will only come to Me with ALL your heart,’ I will do a mighty work in you, which no man can undo but yourself.” ― M. J. CHRISMAN, The Remnant: The Legend of the Seer, 2011; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘God CHOSE [“Bachar, become faithful”] the Jews’ (His people whom He foreknew) to be the people through whom the rest of the world could find salvation). But this did not mean that all Jewish people would be saved: ‘Only those who were FAITHFUL to God (The Remnant) were considered true Jews (11: 5).’ We are saved through Faith in Christ, not because we are part of a nation, religion, or family. ‘On Whom or on What are YOU depending for salvation?’” – RONALD A. BEERS, General Editor, Life Application Study Bible, 2022, p. 2578; edited

1. NETANYAHU’S NEW ISRAEL

In a World and Nation that clearly no longer exists, I traveled to Israel for my only visit to that important State around June 1996. I was, as a Christian with Jewish heritage on my mother’s (Rodriguez) side, absolutely enthralled with the 10 days or so spent there.

Ironically enough, it was simultaneous with the first election of BENJAMIN NETANAHU tothe office of Prime Minister. I recall sitting in a hotel hot tub with a small group of older, mostly white-haired Israeli men, who kept staring at me for reasons I did not yet understand. Seems “a foreigner” to Israelis are pretty easy to spot.

After a brief and somewhat awkward (for me) period of time, one of the more forward of the men declared in a booming voice: “Hey, you’re an American, aren’t you?”  Surprised, I sheepishly replied, “Yes, that’s right” (forcing myself to avoid asking the question, “How did you know?”). After a moment, then this: “Ah, you are a Jew, right?” My response: “So I’ve been told.”

THE POINT. His third and last question would tell the tale: “So, who are you for in this election?” Could have heard a pin drop as the men all looked intently at me, in cold silence, waiting for my answer. “BIBI!” I replied, sensing that I was free here to say what was truly in my heart.

Raucous applause! Some yelling! Maybe even a little whistling and hands banging on the side of the hot tub!

Back then, Netanyahu’s 1996 Prime Ministerial Platform centered on the campaign slogan “Making a Safe Peace.” His platform took a hardline, ‘Existentialist Nationalist’ stance prioritizing National Security over far-reaching concessions, based heavily on the ‘Principle of Strict Reciprocity’ (similar to Lex Talionis, the ‘Law of Retaliation’ by which one’s response to an attack is to be executed with EQUAL force) toward an Enemy.

The Nation has successfully defended itself in the pivotal War of Independence, 1948, the 1967 War that returned Eastern Jerusalem to Israeli control, and the 1982 Yom Kippur War that nearly defeated them. Israel was in no mood to elect a softer candidate in recognition of their existential condition always under threat, twenty-four hours per day.

THE NEW ISRAEL. On OCTOBER 7, 2023, a series of coordinated armed incursions from the blockaded Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of Southern Israel, were carried out by HAMAS and several other Palestinian militant groups during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. The attacks, which began the ongoing GAZA WAR, were the first large-scale invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War for Independence.

In response, Israel launched a vicious large-scale military operation in Gaza that continues to this day, May-June 2026.

I am convinced that this War has radically reshaped not only the landscape of Israel, the entire Middle East and perhaps most importantly, Israeli Foreign Policy. That New Policy is referred to as the: “GREATER ISRAEL” Initiative under the now iron-fisted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

For a brief but incisive look at this extremely provocative new policy, we turn to the work of DJAMILIA PRANGE DE OLIVEIRA, in an essay titled, “Inside Israel’s Expansionist Ambitions” (DW News, April 10, 2026; edited).

• OPEN. “Daniela Weiss holds a laminated map of the Middle East with the title “The Promised Land” into the camera and says: ‘This is the Promise of God to the Patriarchs of the Jewish Nation.’ The map shows a Jewish State that encompasses parts of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia – extending way beyond the 1949 Armistice Line, the so-called ‘Green Line’ that defines Israel’s territory according to International Law.  ‘It’s 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) – almost as big as the Sahara desert,’ Weiss adds. Weiss – sometimes nicknamed the ‘Godmother of the Israeli Settler Movement’ – is referring to the idea of ‘GREATER ISRAEL,’ or in Hebrew ‘Eretz Israel HaShlema’ – ‘Complete Israel.’ It’s an Expansionist Concept popular among the Israeli Far Right that originates in the Bible.

• PROMISE. “On the same day the Lord made a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying, To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates—the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” – GENESIS 15:18-21, AMPC (SEE MAP)

• DEFINITION. “‘SOME Israelis interpret ‘Complete’ or ‘Greater Israel’ to include the territory Israel seized in 1967:’ The Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) — the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza — as well as the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights in Syria and the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt that Israel returned decades ago. ‘OTHERS aim for the entire area promised in the Bible, stretching from the Egyptian Nile River to the Euphrates River, which flows through Turkey, Syria and Iraq.’”

• POLITICS. “In March 2023, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich caused diplomatic turmoil when he spoke at a Paris memorial behind a podium featuring a ‘Greater Israel’ Map that included not only the territories Israel currently occupies but also Jordan. A year later, he told the German-French channel ARTE that, ‘The future of Jerusalem is to expand to Damascus,’ referring to the Syrian Capital. In September 2024, when speaking about his plans for ‘The Day After’ the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a Map that fully annexed the West Bank.  In August 2025, he told the Israeli channel 124 NEWS that he was ‘very much’ connected to the Vision of ‘Greater Israel,’ prompting Egypt and Jordan to demand clarifications from Israel. And just a few months ago, in February 2026, the US Ambassador to Israel, ‘Mike Huckabee, told an American talk show host   that it would be “fine” if Israel took over the entire Middle East!’”

• ORIGINS. “‘In the Biblical Story (Genesis 15:18-21), God promises Abraham and his descendants a territory from the Nile to the Euphrates River.’ Some Zionist thinkers later took up these Biblical Boundaries in their writings. While Theodor Herzl never explicitly defined the borders of a future Jewish State, he described the idea of Biblical Borders proposed by his colleague Max Bodenheimer as ‘excellent’ in his diaries. Vladimir Ze’ev Jabotinsky engaged with the idea both politically and musically in his song ‘The East Bank of the Jordan.’ Each verse ends with the line: ‘The Jordan has two banks’ – this one is ours, and so is the other” …  Netanyahu, was himself active in Jabotinsky’s Revisionist Movement and worked briefly as a close aid to Jabotinsky shortly before his death. Jabotinsky also briefly served as commander of the Zionist paramilitary organization ‘Irgun Zvai Leumi,’ which depicted ‘Greater Israel’ in its logo and on posters.”

• REALITY. Israel expanded its borders beyond what was proposed in the UN Partition Plan in 1947. The plan allocated about 56% of former British Mandatory Palestine to a future Jewish state, but after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Israel controlled about 77%. Since occupying East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in 1967, Israel effectively controls nearly all of former Mandatory Palestine, in addition to the Golan Heights. The international community does not recognize these areas as part of sovereign Israeli territory. But most Israelis do, says [historian] Gil Shohat: ‘It’s been almost 60 years since Israel occupied these areas. Even in textbooks of more liberal schools in Tel Aviv, the Map of Israel includes the West Bank and Gaza.’”  

DK. In my view, the Borders of a ‘Greater Israel” from Scripture are valid. THE QUESTION: Just When and by what Means are those Borderlines to be secured – and importantly: BY WHOM?

II. ISRAEL’S EXPANSIONIST WARS

ATROCITY.  “Enormous wickedness; extreme heinousness or cruelty; as the atrocity of murder.” In International Law, ‘Atrocity’ has no single, standalone statute. Instead, the term collectively refers to THREE CORE VIOLATIONS: Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, and War Crimes. ‘These are severe, large-scale, and systematic offenses against civilian populations, typically involving state or powerful elite involvement.’” – Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828; AI Overview, ret. May 25, 2026; edited

I propose to argue here, with both my Christian and Jewish heritage fixed firmly in heart and mind, things I have not before understood. After careful, years-long study, however, I am now honor-bound to write about the NEW ISRAEL of Benjamin Netanyahu that is not, as it turns out, as “New” as I have been taught for decades.

I will document in TWO SECTIONS from dispassionate AI Overview summaries (ret. May 26, 2026; edited), Key Elements of Israel’s long-standing brutality toward its various Arab opponents. This is in no way to minimize or ignore the savagery of their largely Muslim Jihadist opponents which I have thoroughly documented in my book, The Sixth Seal II (2024, pp. 59-69).

WAR PRACTICES. Here we will overview examples of Israel’s historic pattern of Expanding its Borders and Inhumane Methods of fightine in each Conflict (ret. May 26, 2026; edited).

• THE NAKBA. The Nakba (meaning “Catastrophe” in Arabic) refers to the Mass Displacement and Dispossession of approximately 750,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Zionist forces captured 78% of historic Palestine, destroyed over 530 villages, and forced Palestinians into refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, and neighboring countries.

• GAZA TARGET GENERATION. AI systems like “Lavender” were reportedly used to generate up to 37,000 potential targets. Human Oversight for these lists was often limited to verifying the Gender of the Target, leading to concerns about algorithmic bias and incorrect threat predictions.

• DISPROPORTIONATE HARM. The Military reportedly authorized predetermined levels of civilian collateral damage to strike low-ranking targets. ‘Using unguided munitions on residential buildings to eliminate these AI-flagged targets has caused widespread civilian casualties.’

• MASS SURVEILANCE. Programs rely on systematic, continuous ‘Surveillance of the entire population in Gaza,’ processing personal data from phones, social media, and biometrics.

• INTERNATIONAL LAW. ‘UN experts warn that this automated targeting approach bypasses the legal requirements of distinction between civilians and combatants, proportionality, and precaution.’ It risks severe violations of International Humanitarian Law.

• ACCOUNTABILITY. ‘Rights groups and international bodies are calling for investigations into these AI systems, citing the unprecedented destruction of civilian housing and vital infrastructure.’

• CORPORATE COMPLICITY. ‘Tech companies providing the Cloud computing and machine learning infrastructure’ that power these systems have faced international scrutiny and protests over their role in the Military’s operations.

• LETHAL AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS. The Israeli Military has also deployed ‘AI-equipped drones, automated quadcopters, and remote-controlled sniper systems in residential areas,’ as detailed by Access Now.

• GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS. South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), with the UN Commission of Inquiry concluding that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute ‘Acts of Genocide. These include deliberate destruction of essential land, mass forced displacement, and blocking vital humanitarian aid.’

SETTLER VIOLENCE. This Second Section is designed to highlight accusations of unprovoked and increasing Israeli Settler Aggression toward Palestinians in the West Bank (ret. May 26, 2026; edited).

• TACTICS. Actions frequently include: ‘Physical assaults, arson targeting homes and vehicles, the destruction of olive groves, and the theft or restriction of livestock and water infrastructure.’

• STATE & MILITARY INVOVLEMENT. International Monitors and Human Rights organizations, such asB’Tselem, report that ‘Israeli security forces frequently accompany settlers during raids or fail to intervene to protect Palestinian communities.’

• STRATEGIC EXPANSION. Rather than isolated acts of vigilantism, critics and researchers describe the violence as a mechanism of: ‘Forced Displacement and state-backed Territorial Annexation.’

• DISPLACEMENT & CASUALTIES. ‘Aggression and Land Grabs’ have forced thousands of Palestinians to flee rural shepherding and Bedouin communities. ‘Fatalities among Palestinians have repeatedly hit multi-year highs.’

• INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE. The Severity of the Crisis has triggered Global Condemnation. Western powers, including the United States, the UK, and the EU, have implemented: ‘Targeted Sanctions against violent Extremist Settlers and Organizations involved in outpost construction.’

CONSEQUENCES. “‘The relationship between the United States and Israel is in Crisis.’ Six in 10 Americans have a negative view of Israel, and a majority of those under 50 in both major Parties view Israel as well as its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, negatively.

‘After the brutal Gaza War, a large percentage of liberal-leaning Generation Z considers Israel a Pariah State [a nation isolated and ostracized by the international community for inhumane activity]. Democratic candidates are scrambling to distance themselves from Israel and its controversial leader; earlier this month, 40 of the 47 Democratic senators voted against a military aid package for the country. ‘And Hostility toward Israel is spilling over into hostility toward Jews.’ Liberal influencers, activists, podcasters, and even politicians are invoking age-old ‘Anti-Semitic Tropes’ with [increasingly] frightening regularity.” – MICHAEL A. COHEN, “How Netanyahu Hurt America’s Jews,” The Atlantic, April 26, 2026; edited

III. LAST THOUGHTS: WHAT NOW?

‘American Christians find themselves in a virtual shredding apart of many if not most of our theological and political presuppositions about both AMERICA AND ISRAEL during the last ten years.’ Why?

It is tied directly to the ‘Infiltration’ of DONALD TRUMP’S DARK VISION for the World into every nook and cranny of human and social life: Family; Religion; Education; Media; Arts and Entertainment, Business, and Government.

‘Everywhere we look, Donald Trump is there!’ No matter how much we try to ignore or dismiss him, he is ubiquitous, peripatetic, good night, very nearly omni-present it would seem. Ironically, the NAR-spawned LANCE WALLNAU epitomizes the efforts of the Far Right to Infiltrate” indeed the Seven Mountain Mandate into all spheres of American society, beloved.

THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSE. Given the deep chasms of spiritual, political and ideological complexity regarding the entirety of the Isreal-Palestinian Conflict, I could not find a single article addressing it cogently enough. So was I once again forced to go to a Compendium of Christian Research. Another AI Overview was asked (ret. May 26, 2026; edited):

“How Should American Christians Respond to Israel’s Undeniable Brutality to Palestinians in The Gaza and the West Bank?”

• OPEN. A Biblical Response to the Carnage in Gaza and the West Bank depends on the Theological Framework used, as both critics and supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cite Scripture to justify their positions. The Bible contains contrasting traditions, ranging from calls for Justice and Peace to historic accounts of Warfare. ‘Throughout the Prophetic Tradition, Biblical writers repeatedly CONDEMN leaders, nations, and societal structures that inflict Violence on the Vulnerable.’

• DEFENSE OF THE VULNERABLE. Prophets such as Isaiah and Amos sharply criticize leaders who “Deprive the poor of their rights.” trample on the heads of the poor,” and “Shed innocent blood.” The Text demands that leaders: “Seek justice, Rescue the oppressed, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow”.

• THE IMAGE OF GOD. ‘A central Biblical Principle is that all human beings—both Palestinians and Israelis—are created in the image of God’ (Genesis 1:27). Oppression or Brutality against any population is viewed as a desecration of the Divine Image.

• PEACEMAKING. Jesus proclaims, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). This challenges the logic of perpetual retaliation in favor of active, non-violent reconciliation.

• LOVE OF ENEMIES. Jesus commands believers to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44), explicitly Renouncing Vengeance and calling for the recognition of shared humanity.

• NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY. Passages such as Genesis 15:17-21 outline the Divine Covenant concerning The Land, often used by Religious Zionists to claim sovereignty and defend the Integrity of the State, now!.

• DIVINE RETRIBUTION. Netanyahu himself has drawn international criticism and alarm for citing the violent Destruction of Amalek (found in Deuteronomy 25:17-19 and 1 Samuel 15:3) as a Religious Justification to commit Genocide against the Palestinian people.

CODA. Beloved, for all of my life I have invariably worn “A Label” to describe my “Preferences and Nuisances,” as we used to say it in my graduate school days in the 1970s (yes, I am that old). What we were essentially doing by that assignment of a label was giving ourselves a self-prescribed IDENTITY:

Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Conservative, Libertarian, Atheist, Agnostic, Christian, Jew, Anarchist, Marxist, Socialist, Dominionist, Charismatic, Pentecostal, Evangelical, Pacifist, Baptist, Methodist, Theologian, Apologist, Polemicist, Dispensationalist, Zionist, and on and on and on, depending where we were in our matriculation through life.

I have worn several of these over the years. Only recently, however, has it strongly occurred to me to dispose of nearly all labels in favor of just one: “CHRIST FOLLOWER.”

To encapsulate this idea, I close with wise instruction from Atlanta Pastor DOMONIC PURVIANCE in a recent Christianity Today essay titled, “Ideologies Don’t Save, But We Act Like They Do” (Mar. 4, 2026; edited).

“‘Christianity exerts its greatest influence in public life when it resists being captured by the limited worldview of modern Forms of IDOLATRY.’ Only from that vantage point can believers retain the clarity they need to address the real challenges facing our societies—while waiting in hope for the Restoration only Christ can bring and no Ideology can ultimately deliver.”

Christ, and Christ Alone! Both now and forever.

THE POSTER: “Benjamin Netanyahu charged with: Allegedly responsible for the War Crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population; and the Crimes Against Humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. From at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.” – International Criminal Court, Nov. 21, 2024; edited

NOTE: I will be traveling for the next week to ten days on a limited Circuit Ride toward the Great Northwest. Prayers always appreciated. DK

MEDIA

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/IjnB8Z-GKqY