Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz says Israel must combine ‘strength with high moral ground,’ urges Evangelical Christians to visit Israel

Kicking off the fifth season of THE ROSENBERG REPORT on TBN, the show's host, Joel C. Rosenberg, welcomed Benny Gantz to the program for the first time.

Gantz (67) spent more than three decades in the Israel Defense Forces, ultimately becoming IDF chief of staff, before entering politics and becoming one of Netanyahu’s leading rivals. He later served as defense minister and, after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, joined the emergency unity government, where he was involved in key wartime decision-making.

During the interview, Gantz urged Evangelical Christians to visit Israel and see the country firsthand.

Asked by Rosenberg what message he had for Christians after nearly three years of war, Gantz began by expressing his gratitude for their longstanding relationship with Israel.

“First, I would like to say I really appreciate the support and the partnership that we are trying to create with one another,” Gantz said.

The former IDF chief compared the situation of Christians in Israel with that of Christian communities elsewhere in the Middle East, pointing to declining numbers in places such as Lebanon and Bethlehem.

“Here in Israel, you can practice your religion. You can visit the places,” Gantz said. “You are more than welcome to do it. It’s not that it’s an option for you. You are more than welcome to do it.”

Rosenberg told Gantz about plans to bring hundreds, potentially thousands, of Christians to Israel for the Epicenter Summit in Jerusalem in April 2027 and invited him to meet visiting Christian leaders.

“I’d be very happy to do so,” Gantz responded, stressing the importance of visitors experiencing Israel beyond what they see in the media.

“It is very important for us that people will really understand what is it that we are doing – not only through media – in news, etcetera, and through the framework of the camera,” he said.

“When you come and you see how we live and how we strive through those difficulties, I think you’ll have kind of the right assessment of what is it that we are doing.”

Gantz also pushed back against accusations that Israel deliberately starved Palestinians or committed genocide during the Gaza war, pointing to humanitarian aid entering the enclave and Israel’s efforts to move civilians away from combat areas.

He then recalled advice from his mother, a Holocaust survivor, during an earlier Israeli military operation in Gaza.

“She said, ‘Don’t stop fighting, but don’t stop sending them food,’ in the same sentence,” Gantz told Rosenberg.

Gantz said the lesson reflected what he believes must remain the foundation of Israel’s approach to its enemies: maintaining the military strength necessary for survival without abandoning its moral principles.

“We have to keep our strength because if we won’t be strong, we won’t survive this area,” Gantz said. “And we must keep our values because if we don’t keep our values, who are we?”

“It’s only those two pillars when they work together – strength with high moral ground,” he concluded. “That’s the only way I think we can and should survive in this place and thrive in this place.”

Click HERE to watch Joel Rosenberg’s full interview with former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

THE ROSENBERG REPORT airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. EST and Saturday nights at 10 p.m. EST on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the most-watched Christian television network in the United States.