A new study has found that Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion relied more heavily on religious and historical references in his wartime speeches than current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, challenging a common perception about the growing influence of religion in right-wing political discourse.
The study, conducted by Dr. Gila Amati and Shlomi Breznick of the Glazer Center at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), analyzed roughly 120 public speeches—33 delivered by Ben-Gurion during Israel’s War of Independence (May 1948–July 1949) and 97 given by Netanyahu during the war in Gaza, including Operation Rising Lion (October 2023–June 2025).
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David Ben-Gurion, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: David Rubinger, Alex Kolomoisky)
The findings reveal that Ben-Gurion referenced biblical or rabbinic texts in 79% of his speeches, compared to 58% in Netanyahu’s. These ranged from short expressions such as “ingathering of exiles” and “eternity of Israel,” to longer biblical quotations.
Ben-Gurion also mentioned the Holocaust in 27% of his wartime addresses, while Netanyahu did so in 22%. Speaking just a few years after the Holocaust, Ben-Gurion often invoked the six million Jews murdered, the Nazis and Adolf Hitler, to frame Israel’s existential struggle. While Netanyahu also draws on Holocaust imagery, the study shows he does so slightly less frequently.
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When it comes to citing Jewish historical figures, Ben-Gurion again led—referring to Moses, Joshua, Bar Kokhba and the Hasmoneans in 42% of his speeches, compared to 24% in Netanyahu’s. References to key events in Jewish history, like the Exodus or the Spanish Expulsion, appeared in 52% of Ben-Gurion's wartime speeches versus just 12% in Netanyahu’s.
However, Netanyahu surpasses Ben-Gurion in invoking personal religious faith. Phrases such as “with God’s help” and “may God avenge their blood” appeared in 59% of Netanyahu’s speeches, nearly three times more than Ben-Gurion’s 21%. While Ben-Gurion preferred terms like “Tzur Yisrael,” he also occasionally used phrases like “in God’s image” or “the Holy One, blessed be He.”
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דוד בן גוריון עם חיילי "ההגנה" החוגגים את סדר פסח, שלושה שבועות לפני הכרזת העצמאות
(צילום: הארכיון הציוני המרכזי של ההסתדרות הציונית העולמית)
The researchers concluded that, contrary to popular belief, Netanyahu’s wartime rhetoric is not more religious or Holocaust-centered than Ben-Gurion’s. Instead, they say, Netanyahu leans more on expressions of personal faith, while Ben-Gurion’s language was deeply rooted in Jewish history and scripture—despite being a secular socialist leader.
“Anyone can notice that Netanyahu frequently says ‘with God’s help,’ and some have assumed this is aimed at a more traditional audience," Dr. Amati commented. "But our findings show that religious rhetoric has long been embedded in Israeli political discourse.”
Breznick noted that one challenge was parsing phrases with dual meanings: “Terms like ‘redemption’ or ‘ingathering of exiles’ can be interpreted as religious or secular. We used AI analysis and then manual review to classify them according to context and usage.”