Israeli President Herzog: ‘We live in a historical moment – God placed President Trump to lead a better future for the region’

In a wide-ranging interview with THE ROSENBERG REPORT on TBN, Israeli President Isaac Herzog praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to join Israel’s military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities as “historic, heroic, and bold.”

Speaking with ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor-in-Chief Joel Rosenberg, Herzog said he “absolutely commends” the U.S. president’s move, describing the close coordination between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “extraordinary.”

Responding to international criticism of the joint military action to thwart the Iranian threat, Herzog defended it in stark terms.

“There are moments in history where you try to make peace, but to get there – you have to fight for it,” he said. “You have to eradicate risks that are intolerable.”

He warned that combining the world’s most dangerous weapon with a regime guided by a dangerous ideology poses the greatest threat to the free world.

“What Israel did is a life savior for the free world and serves the national security interests of other nations, predominantly the United States of America,” Herzog said.

The strike dealt a significant blow to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, but not without cost. Dozens of Israelis were killed in retaliatory strikes. Homes and buildings were destroyed – including Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva, an assisted living facility for the elderly, and a center for children with special needs.

Despite the toll, Herzog emphasized Israeli resilience.

“The Israeli nation is enormously resilient and understands this is another chapter in our historic homecoming,” he said.

The Israeli president stressed that Israel’s enemies must understand a basic truth: “The Jewish state is here to stay forever.”

“The only way to move on with us is by peace and accommodation,” Herzog added.

Echoing sentiments from Netanyahu and senior officials in the Trump administration, Herzog expressed hope that the weakening of Iran’s regional domination will lead to new diplomatic breakthroughs, such as the expansion of the Abraham Accords.

“I believe that the great victory and the great next chapter should be normalization between Israel and the Arab states around us,” he said, highlighting the increased likelihood of peace with Saudi Arabia.

On prospects of peace with Palestinians, Herzog expressed a hopeful vision.

“I truly believe that the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael, should all get together and dwell in this land peacefully… if we work properly, correctly and boldly.”

Asked to send a message to the Iranian people, Herzog made a sharp distinction between the nation and the regime that controls it.

“We have no war with the people of Iran,” he said. “They are a great historic nation that has been taken over by an oppressive regime with an extreme ideology. I hope they will realize the opportunity and bring change by themselves for themselves.”

Rosenberg asked if what President Trump called the “12-Day War” had helped unify the Israeli public, which had been deeply divided prior to the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

“We are a democracy and the views are different on all issues under the sun, same as in the United States of America,” Herzog responded. “But the enemy always unites us because we don't intend to lose what we've got here.”

“We built an amazing nation from sand, from desert, and made it bloom. We realized the prophecies of the prophets,” he added, referring to the biblical prophecy in the Book of Isaiah.

The interview was filmed inside the grand hall of the presidential residence in Jerusalem, where mosaics on the walls depict scenes from the Bible.

“Do you believe that the rebirth of the State of Israel in 1948 was prophetic?” Rosenberg asked.

“I absolutely believe in it. I come from a family that believes,” Herzog said. “My grandfather was the first chief rabbi of Israel. When David Ben-Gurion moved our capital to Jerusalem, my grandfather sent him a Bible quote and said, ‘This is another step in the rebirth of Israel.’ And Ben-Gurion sent him a letter saying, according to the prophets, the Geula – the redemption – would come chapter by chapter.”

Rosenberg then asked what Evangelical Christians – and others around the world – can do to help Israel prevail against its enemies.

Herzog took the opportunity to thank President Trump again for his courageous leadership and to highlight the support he received from Evangelical Christians.

“I'll tell you a story,” he said to Rosenberg. “When my late grandfather, Rabbi Herzog, came to see President Truman in the Oval Office, there are records at the Truman Library showing that Truman cried only three times in his life: when his mother passed away, when one of her very close friends died, and when Rabbi Herzog came to him in the Oval Office, gave him the Torah – the Bible – and said, ‘God blessed you in your mother’s womb to defend and protect the Jewish people and the State of Israel.’”

Reflecting on that moment, Herzog then said: “I think God placed President Trump in his mother's womb to change the world, to lead a better future for the region, to defend Israel and defend America's national security interests, and to make sure that evil forces are removed and pushed away. This is the great historical moment that we all live in.”

Watch Joel Rosenberg’s full interview with President Isaac Herzog on the TBN website.

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