Facing Backlash, Netanyahu Denies Belittling Jesus in Comparison with Genghis Khan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected claims that he intended to offend Christians when he stated that Jesus Christ held no advantage over Genghis Khan. Netanyahu denied insulting Jesus.

“More fake news about my stance towards Christians, who are protected and thriving in Israel. Let me be clear: I did not belittle Jesus Christ in my press conference,” Netanyahu wrote in English on X, as reported by AFP on Saturday (21/3/2026).

“On the contrary, I quoted the great American historian Will Durant. A faithful admirer of Jesus Christ, Durant stated that morality alone is not enough to ensure survival,” he added.

“A morally superior civilisation can still fall into the hands of a brutal enemy if it lacks the strength to defend itself. There was no intent to offend,” he wrote.

On Thursday evening (19/3), Netanyahu said during a televised meeting with foreign press that “history proves that, unfortunately and unpleasantly, Jesus Christ had no advantage over Genghis Khan because if you are strong enough, brutal enough, powerful enough, evil will defeat good.”

“Aggression will defeat moderation. So you have no choice,” he added, quoting Durant.

In the speech, Netanyahu defended Israel’s joint attack with the US on Iran, launched on 28 February—which triggered a regional war—and insisted it was the best way to protect not only Israel but “the entire world” from what he called Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile threats.

His statements triggered a wave of criticism on social media, particularly from Christians angered by the comparison between Jesus—whom they regard as the incarnate God and “Prince of Peace”—and Genghis Khan, the 13th-century founder of the Mongol Empire whose forces devastated Asia from China to the Mediterranean.

Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Lutheran pastor from Bethlehem, believed to be Jesus’s birthplace, said on X that Netanyahu’s statement was “offensive on multiple levels.”

“It’s not just comparing Jesus to Genghis Khan,” he wrote, “but also implying that Jesus’s way is naive, while a brutal approach and ‘might makes right’… is what ultimately allows good to defeat evil.”

“Netanyahu, and his Christian Zionist supporters, are mocking Jesus’s ethics,” he added.