The Media Line: President Trump’s Knesset Address Turns Faith into Foreign Policy

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President Trump’s Knesset Address Turns Faith into Foreign Policy

He cast Israel’s wartime resilience as the dawn of a “golden age” for the Middle East

By Maayan Hoffman/The Media Line

Faith, God, and gratitude were the dominant threads running through the more than hour-long speech that US President Donald Trump delivered Monday at the Knesset. Compared with his other recent addresses — including his appearance at the United Nations — this one carried a distinctly different tone, cadence, and message.

It wasn’t the familiar “me, I did it” President Trump speech. Yes, there was talk of victory, strength, and his pivotal role in restoring US–Israel relations, but this time the focus was elsewhere.

President Trump’s address was steeped in religion, an overarching message about Israel’s history, faith, and divine purpose. He acknowledged that he could not have done it alone, giving credit first to God and then to the people who, he said, worked alongside him.

“This is not only the end of a war; this is the end of an age of terror and death, and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God,” President Trump told a packed parliament. “It’s the start of a grand concord and lasting harmony for Israel and all the nations of what will soon be a truly magnificent region. I believe in that so strongly. This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”

Throughout his speech, President Trump invoked biblical imagery and messianic overtones. He declared that not just the Gaza war had ended, but what he called “the granddaddy of them all,” the millennia-long conflict between Jews and Muslims.

“Some people say 3,000 years. Some people say 500 years. Whatever it is, it’s the granddaddy of them all,” he said.

In a vision echoing prophetic scripture, President Trump described a scene of worldwide joy and redemption.

“People are dancing in the streets, not just in Israel,” he said. “They’re dancing in the streets of countries that would have never danced in the street about what is happening today.”

His words seemed to draw on Zechariah 8:5: “The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing there,” a biblical image of peace and renewal after centuries of suffering.

“Peace is not just a hope that we can dream about,” he continued. “It’s a reality we can build upon, day by day, person by person, nation by nation.” He said Israel, “the spiritual center” of the Middle East, would anchor this transformation.

“It should now be clear to everyone throughout the region that decades of fomenting terrorism and extremism, jihadism and antisemitism have not worked,” President Trump said. “They’ve been a disaster. They’ve just killed. They have not worked. From Gaza to Iran, those bitter hatreds have delivered nothing but misery, suffering, failure, and death. They’ve served not to weaken Israel, but to annihilate the very forces that did the most.”

The message echoed Genesis 12, in which God promises to bless those who bless Israel and to curse those who do not.

“We’ve seen those nations that set aside their differences, reached across ancient divides, and pursued engagement are now among the most successful in the region,” President Trump said, envisioning a new era “where instead of building fortresses to keep enemies at bay, the nations of this region should be building infrastructure to weave commerce closer together.”

He went further, linking faith to modern progress: “Instead of making weapons and missiles, the wealth of this region should flow to schools and the medicine industry — and, frankly, the new hot thing, artificial intelligence.”

President Trump praised the Jewish people’s “love of life” and their courage to persevere through millennia of persecution and exile.

“They have emerged with the heart of David,” he said. “The heart of David is that love that’s defeated the enemies of civilization.”

In the “eternal capital of Jerusalem,” President Trump appeared visibly moved.

“For thousands of years, Jerusalem has been a home to Christians, Jews, Muslims, and people of all ethnicities and creeds,” he said. “This is the holy center of the world’s three great Abrahamic faiths … adorned with their sacred sites and alive with their pilgrims and visitors from every corner of the globe. But here, between the Western Wall, the Temple Mount, and the hill called Calvary, people of every faith and background live, work, pray, serve, and raise their families side by side — and they do it with love.”

“The God who once dwelled among his people in this city still calls us, in the words of Scripture, ‘Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it,’” President Trump said, quoting Psalms.

He added that “even after 3,000 years of pain and conflict, the people of Israel have never given up.” They continue to yearn for “the promise of Zion, the promise of success and hope and love and God.”

And, he said, “the people of America have never lost faith in the promise of a great and blessed future for all of us. From the very first day that modern Israel was founded, we have stood together through the thick and thin of setbacks, and through victory and defeat, through glory and heartache. We have confronted evil together, and we have waged war together, and perhaps most beautifully of all, we have made peace together.”

President Trump added, “The State of Israel is strong, and it will live and thrive forever.”

From there, the speech shifted from faith to gratitude, a tone that grounded his talk in an unusual appreciation for the people who helped turn the day into reality.

He thanked Israel’s leaders multiple times and extended heartfelt appreciation to what he called “great American patriots” who provided “invaluable help in getting something done that almost everyone thought was absolutely impossible.”

He named US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner,Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and American-Israeli philanthropist Miriam Adelson.

“They love him on this side; they love him on the other side,” President Trump said of Witkoff with a grin, before adding, “When we want to get that deal closed, we bring Jared.”

However, beneath the gratitude ran a deeper current: messages of victory, strength, and the enduring power of the US–Israel alliance.

President Trump reminded the world that America “always had the strongest military, and now we have a stronger military than we’ve ever had.” He boasted that the United States possesses “weapons that nobody has ever dreamt of,” describing their level of power as “so enormous, so dangerous, so bad.”

“We’ve got a lot of them, and we’ve given a lot to Israel,” he continued, emphasizing that Israel’s growing military might — and its willingness to use it — was what “ultimately led to peace.”

“Peace through strength … that’s what it’s all about,” he said.

President Trump portrayed a region transformed: “The forces of chaos, terror and ruin that have plagued the region for decades now [stand] weakened, isolated and totally defeated. A new coalition of proud and responsible nations is emerging,” he declared, crediting both American leadership and “the bravery and incredible skill of the Israeli Defense Forces” during Operation Rising Lion in Iran and the rest of the seven-front war.

He also highlighted Operation Midnight Hammer, in which the US deployed 14 B-52 bombers to strike Iran’s key nuclear facilities, “totally obliterating them.” President Trump said that the move prevented the world’s leading state sponsor of terror from obtaining “the world’s most dangerous weapons.”

“If we didn’t do that, and assuming we made the same deal that we have today, there’d be a dark cloud over this deal,” President Trump stressed. “It wouldn’t happen, because the other Arab and Muslim nations really wouldn’t feel comfortable making the deal that we have now… Let’s assume there were large-scale nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran, we couldn’t be here today, even if we signed the deal, because a lot of people would not want to have anything to do with it. We took a big cloud off the Middle East and off of Israel.”

President Trump even hinted at what might come next, revealing that America had ordered 28 more upgraded bombers “just in case.”

The audience was captivated. Those in attendance described the speech as electric.

Gabe Groisman, former mayor of Bal Harbour, Florida, told The Media Line, “The president held the Knesset in the palm of his hands. It was an incredible speech.”

Groisman said the address emphasized the close relationship between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump, a partnership he described as “collective efforts to get the State of Israel to where it is today.”

“It was also a very important speech for the American public,” he added, “for political circles to have a clear understanding of where America stands with Israel. This is his speech for the history books.”

Indeed, President Trump devoted significant time to reinforcing the US–Israel bond, portraying it not just as an alliance of shared values but as one of shared destiny and strength.

“Israel and America have shared values,” he said, “but there is more.” He praised Israel’s powerful military, calling it “one of the most powerful in the world,” and its economy, which he described as “one of the most innovative on Earth.”

“I’m proud to be the best friend that Israel has ever had, “President Trump declared. “They all say it in the White House. They all say it. I guess it’s true, because everybody says it.”

Eric Mandel, founder and director of the Middle East Political and Information Network, told The Media Line that President Trump’s words were “hard to deny.” He noted that the speech “brings no daylight whatsoever between the United States and Israel,” a stance that sets a strong tone for navigating any future disagreements as President Trump’s 20-point Middle East peace plan unfolds.

Still, the speech was not without President Trump’s trademark bravado.

He reminded the Knesset he was “quite late” for the Middle East Summit in Egypt. With his characteristic humor, he quipped, “They might not be there by the time I get there, but we’re going to give it a shot.”

The audience likely recognized the subtext: that world leaders would wait for him.

In a typical President Trump fashion, he used the stage to draw sharp contrasts with his Democratic predecessors. He accused former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden of harboring animosity toward Israel. He called Obama’s 2015 signing of the Iran nuclear deal the most significant setback to Middle East peace.

“This was a disaster for Israel, and it was a disaster for everyone,” President Trump said. “I remember that Bibi Netanyahu came to the United States and worked so hard to try to get Obama not to do that deal.” But, he continued, “Obama wanted to go with Iran. They chose Iran, actually, over a lot of other nations, but specifically Israel, and that was the beginning of a very bad time… I terminated the Iran nuclear deal, and I am very proud of it.”

President Trump suggested that Iran was now ready for new negotiations, even though its leaders publicly claim otherwise.

“I can tell you they want to make a deal,” he said pointedly.

Mandel described the performance as vintage President Trump: “He was completely in his element,” he said. “He enjoyed every moment — it was a tour de force.” According to Mandel, 90%, “if not 100%,” of the gallery was “totally behind him,” something, he noted, “the president could never achieve in the United States.”

Ultimately, President Trump’s speech placed Israel on the pedestal that many believe, after two long and painful years of war, it finally deserves. It also laid out his sweeping vision for the future of the land, the people, and the State of Israel.

“This piece of land is very small… You have this little dot, and think of what you’ve done,” President Trump said. “It’s incredible. And I just want to congratulate you for having the courage to say, ‘That’s it. We’ve won. And now let’s enjoy our lives, and let’s rebuild Israel and make it stronger and bigger and better than it’s ever been before.'”

With the return of the remaining hostages and Israel’s victories on multiple fronts, President Trump said it was time for the country to “put that genius” into building something new.

“It’s going to be a miracle, the miracle in the desert,” he said. “It’s going to be amazing. It’s my firm hope and dream, frankly, that together the Abraham Accords will turn out to be everything that we thought they would. Those four countries were very, very brave in doing it. They did it at a very early point, and every single one of them benefits unbelievably… And if you notice, even in this bad period that we just went through, they all remained members of the Abraham Accords.”

Dr. Harel Chorev, a senior researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center, noted that at times the president’s optimism “almost sounds like fantasy.” Yet, immediately after the conclusion of President Trump’s address in the Knesset, Chorev told The Media Line, “When he goes into detail, you see that he’s not someone to be deceived in any way. He fully understands the complexity of things.”

“Despite his optimism,” Chorev added, “I think at the end of the day, he’s more connected to the ground than any other leader of the Western world today.”

So what is President Trump’s final vision?

“An incredible triumph for Israel and the world — to have all of these nations working together as partners in peace,” he said. “Generations from now, this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change, and change very much for the better… It will be the golden age of Israel and the golden age of the Middle East.”

He closed with the blessing that echoed through the chamber: “You’ve won. Now it’s time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East… God bless you. God bless the United States of America. And God bless the Middle East.”