Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on Sunday at the annual event of the "Masa Journey" Project, which provides pro-Israel community and activities in a one-year program framework.
“No matter how many countries you came from, you came from one country: This is your one country,” he told participants.
“We’re all children of Abraham, and Abraham started here almost 4,000 years ago, and the Jewish people lived here for almost 2,000 years and then were gradually dispersed. And then something amazing happened. It never happened in the history of nations that a people that had lost its land had come back to it. There’s only one example of a people who after thousands of years came back. We came back to our homeland. We came back to the land of Israel and we built the State of Israel,” said Netanyahu.
“This is a momentous time: You come here and you’ve contributed a year of your life to this immense enterprise,” he continued. “You volunteered over a million volunteer days for Israel this year.”
With their volunteer efforts, said Netanyahu, Masa participants “become a part of this great story. Israel is an amazing story. I think it’s an amazing story for mankind, but I think especially it’s an amazing story for young Jews. You’ve gotten to know the real Israel. You’ve gotten to know the truth behind the headlines. You’ve gotten to know that the facts: That we are a democracy. That we are people that want peace. That we are people that create the future....and that future includes you.”
Netanyahu made two requests of the Masa participants as they return to their home countries: To tell the truth about Israel, and to come back to Israel permanently.
“You’ve been part of this voyage. We’d like to see you here. I’d like to see you here.”