Dr. Hagai Ben-Artzi, Benjamin Netanyahu's brother-in-law and Bible lecturer, states in an interview conducted with him on the Channel 7 website that the Prime Minister is faced with a historic opportunity that he must seize.
Traveling in the Dan Bloc? Come choose your route on the Dankel Red Line
Immediately after his election, notes Dr. Ben-Artzi, the American president came up with a bold plan "that no one in the State of Israel, except Rabbi Kahane, dared to think of, the immigration of refugees from the Gaza Strip. His argument was pragmatic, Gaza is destroyed and there is nowhere to return, so let's move them and scatter them around the world and give them a human life, a normal life. This is a historic opportunity. For the first time, the president of the greatest power has stood up and offered us a solution to the refugee problem that has haunted us for seventy years."
When asked if it's not right to solve the issue of the abductees first, Ben Artzi says that the consideration should be to first address the strategic problems and "twenty abductees is not a strategic problem."
This statement, he says, is an unpopular one, but in his opinion it should be said openly. "I have the moral authority to say this."
Ben Artzi: "If, God forbid, we don't manage to save them, and it is a great ambition to save them, we already have almost 2,000 dead, civilians and soldiers, then God forbid there will be 2,020 dead. We are talking about another 20 kidnapped. This is not a strategic problem for the State of Israel. The State of Israel has a strategic mission, and it is first and foremost a complete victory over Hamas, meaning the occupation of the entire Gaza Strip, just as we control Judea and Samaria, and the moment you occupy and control, you can begin to implement the immigration plan of the President of the United States. This is a historic opportunity."
However, Ben Artzi adds and estimates that it is precisely the occupation of Gaza that will increase the chances of rescuing the hostages, since Hamas' surrender may include the return of some of the hostages - and yet the risk of harming the hostages should not be ignored, "but this is not a strategic problem, and we need to say that."
Ben Artzi also states that "the entire campaign of the kidnappers is a political campaign designed to overthrow Bibi and the government, to overthrow the right, because they know that if, God forbid, Bibi gives in on the issue of the deal - then Smotrich and Ben Gvir will resign and go to the elections. This is a political campaign that has nothing to do with a moral-spiritual-religious matter."
Ben Artzi sharply attacked the claims that "the right has forgotten the values of the Bible" - and indirectly referred to the speeches of Prof. Shikma Bresler, one of the leaders of the protest against the right. "They shout 'They have forgotten what it is to be a Jew' and this is one of the things that irritates me, specifically as a Bible teacher for fifty years. Did I forget to be a Jew? When was the last time you opened the Bible, Gemara, Rambam, Shulchan Aruch? Are you saying you forgot to be Jewish? We know the Bible and Gemara well, and we know that redeeming captives is an important value, but not at the expense of the interests of all of Israel.
"I personally address Bibi and tell him, Bibi, the supreme providence has given you a historic opportunity for the first time in the history of the State of Israel not only to defeat an enemy, but to solve the refugee problem, and I pray, ask and beg you, do not miss this opportunity," says Ben Artzi, expressing open disappointment with the conduct of his brother-in-law who, despite everything he wrote about the prohibition against surrendering to terror, is making deals.
Do you see a leader on the right today who could replace the prime minister?
"Absolutely not, the other Likud leaders are in a different league compared to the prime minister. There is no question at all about the gap between them. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will only be replaced by the Messiah. I know that people will tell me that I am Messianic for saying this. But the Bible is Messianic, Judaism is Messianic. Only someone who does not study the Bible can see this term as derogatory. An example of this is the first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who was proud to say that the state is Messianic and that the Jewish people have a Messianic message. He said this with boldness because he studied the Bible."
English 
Hebrew