Using decidedly biblical rhetoric, and employing terms most of our readers might take to mean he believes in Jesus (Yeshua), Gen. David Zini on Friday said his farewells to the IDF ahead of being confirmed as the new chief of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).
Serving in the defense of Israel, said Zini, is “a privilege that millions of Jews prayed and yearned for over two thousand years, and I, like a dwarf standing on the shoulders of giants, have been granted a double portion of this privilege.”
Speaking at a ceremony this week marking the end of his 33-year military career, Zini offered thanks to “the Master of the Universe, or, if you prefer, ‘the Eternal of Israel Who does not lie’ [a reference to 1 Samuel 15:29]. Thank you for granting me the privilege of being part of this special nation. Thank you for all that I have merited through my service in the IDF.”
Many were unhappy that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tapped Zini to head the Shin Bet, deriding the general as too “messianic” for such a role. While most of our readers use the term “messianic” to label Jews who believe in Yeshua as the Messiah, in Israel the term is more often used to describe those who allow faith in the Bible to shape their political worldview.
Late last month, Hebrew media reported that several Shin Bet officers had threatened to resign if the appointment of the “messianic” Zini went through.
At his speech, Zini insisted that all true Israelis are messianic at heart:
“Recently, the term ‘messianic’ has risen to the forefront of our [national] discourse. My friends, we are all messianic—messianic like David Ben-Gurion, messianic like the founding fathers of our nation, who saw in our nation’s grand vision a message for the entire world. Tell me what messianism is, and I will tell you if I am messianic. In any case, messianism is not a derogatory term. It is precisely because of this constant spark that we strive for continuous improvement in all aspects of our personal and collective lives.”
Israel’s current right-wing religious government has been repeatedly referred to as “messianic,” and not in a complimentary tone. For more on that, read: Does Israel need saving from a “messianic dictatorship”?
