During a ceremony welcoming Christian media representatives to Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked why Israel goes so far out of its way to provide aid to disaster victims around the world.

From Haiti to Nepal to Japan to Mexico, Israel is almost always the first on the scene following major catastrophe, and more often than not sends one of the largest and best-equipped delegations, despite being so much smaller than many of the other nations responding.

In response to the question, Netanyahu cited the Bible:

Because we’re a light unto the nations. That’s the great fulfillment of that great prophecy, and in fact what Israel is doing. …And the people say, well, what do you do? What is it that you get out of it? And the answer is we’re not getting out of it anything, we’re fulfilling our deepest values – Israel is a light unto the nations.