Article By Jon Brown
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prompted intense backlash and debate for quoting the late American historian Will Durant’s views on power and his dismissive assessment of Jesus Christ compared to the murderous Mongol conqueror, Genghis Khan.
“You know, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, someone that I admire a lot, was the historian Will Durant. Now, he wrote many volumes. I read most of them,” Netanyahu said during a Thursday press briefing in Jerusalem.
“He also wrote The Lessons of History, a very brief, 100-page book, in which he said, ‘Well, history proves that, unfortunately and unhappily, Jesus Christ has no advantage over Genghis Khan.’ Because if you are strong enough, ruthless enough, powerful enough, evil will overcome good. Aggression will overcome moderation.”
“So, you have no choice. If you look at the world as it is today, you have to be blind not to see that the democracies led by the United States have to reassert their will to defend themselves. And to oppose their enemies in time, while there’s still time, before the jarring gong of danger wakes them up and wakes them up too late. This is where we are now,” Netanyahu added.
Durant, who also famously wrote an 11-volume history of civilization, had rejected the Roman Catholicism of his youth and become an agnostic with Darwinian and pantheistic tendencies by the time he wrote the 1968 book Netanyahu cited. He reportedly returned to Catholicism by the end of his life.
The full quote, from the seventh chapter of Durant’s book, reads: “Nature and history do not agree with our conceptions of good and bad; they define good as that which survives, and bad as that which goes under; and the universe has no prejudice in favor of Christ as against Genghis Khan.”
FAKE NEWS@disclosetv (an account based in Ireland) has deceptively edited a statement issued by @netanyahu, taking out the clear citation he makes, quoting author Will Durant:
— Bree A Dail (@breeadail) March 19, 2026
Full statement-
pic.twitter.com/Nk6gcNBSsp
Netanyahu has used the Durant quote in the past, including during a 2023 speech, delivered shortly after the Hamas terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, when he framed Israel’s conflict with its enemies as a battle between civilization and barbarism.
Clips of the prime minister’s recent remarks, some of which removed the wider context, quickly went viral on social media Thursday, with one version receiving 25 million impressions on X. After backlash, Netanyahu issued a statement pushing back against widespread characterizations of his remarks while clarifying that he was not attempting to be disrespectful toward Jesus or Christianity.
“More fake news about my attitude toward Christians, who are protected and flourish in Israel. Let me be clear: I did not denigrate Jesus Christ at my news conference this evening,” he said. “To the contrary, I cited the great American historian Will Durant. A fervent admirer of Jesus Christ, Durant stated that morality by itself is not enough to ensure survival.”
“A morally superior civilization may still fall to a ruthless enemy if it does not have the power to defend itself. No offense was meant,” he added.
Debate extended on social media into Friday, with some supporting Netanyahu’s broader point about fighting evil as Israel and the United States enter the fourth week of their joint war against Iran. One such figure was conservative author, filmmaker and podcaster Dinesh D’Souza, who sparked a separate debate when he defended Netanyahu’s remarks by claiming Satan often wins in this world.
“He’s quoting historian Will Durant to the effect that this is the way of the world. History is a record of conquest, and might typically prevails regardless of who is right. Christianity is in full agreement that Satan is the prince of this world and his side often prevails,” said D’Souza, whose 2025 film “The Dragon’s Prophecy“ framed the ongoing conflict in the Middle East in Judeo-Christian eschatological terms. The documentary, which was put out by Salem Media Group, featured commentary from figures such as Netanyahu and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
While some of the online opposition to Netanyahu’s comments devolved into anger and blatantly antisemitic invective, others offered more nuanced criticism, suggesting that he and Durant show a fundamental misunderstanding of the Gospel and the work of Christ, who said shortly before His death, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.”
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world,” Jesus later told His disciples on the night He was betrayed, according to John 16.
Firas Modad, a Catholic Middle East and geopolitics analyst, repudiated Netanyahu’s assertion that the Durant quote was not a slight against the Christian worldview and accused the prime minister of being manipulative.
“The entire premise of Christianity is that even without power Jesus Christ can beat the Mongols. So, yes, that quote did denigrate Jesus Christ and Christian morality,” he wrote. “Netanyahu knew what he was doing. Just as Pope Benedict knew what he was doing with his quote about the irrationality of Islam. Netanyahu is a wily operator.”
Faithfulness Okom, a Christian lawyer and podcaster from Nigeria, said in a post that received more than 320,000 views that the Durant citation showed “exactly why Paul writes that the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men.”
Okom went on to reflect that if Jesus had been “the warrior-king messiah” whom many in first-century Judea had wanted, it would have been “a fatal mistake” that would have reduced Jesus to other conquerors in history whose legacies ultimately perish.
“God chose differently. Jesus did not conquer by force. He was executed by the people with the force. And 2,000 years later He is still being followed. His teachings still shape ethics, civilization, and the moral imagination of billions of us.”
“He stands in a class of his own not in spite of the nonviolence but precisely [because] of it,” Okom continued, adding that Jesus “still stands out” whether He is compared to a violent warlord like Genghis Khan or “the most peaceful statesman alive today.”
“Nothing touches Him on either end of the spectrum. Durant, who Bibi quotes, was describing history, not eternity. Jesus said the meek shall inherit the earth and in doing so He was revealing a logic that runs deeper than any military strategy. The cross looked like defeat and foolishness to everyone watching. But in reality it was the most decisive victory ever recorded. God is amazing in His wisdom!”
Andrew Day, who serves as senior editor of The American Conservative, wrote that what Netanyahu said was “incompatible not only with the basic principles of Christianity but also of Greek philosophy and Roman law.”
“Even Nietzsche, who admired Jesus (believe it or not), would consider it nihilistic and cold, not to mention false, considering the kings of Europe bowed to Christ.”
GOP pollster and pundit Rich Baris said Netanyahu’s move was “stupid” from a public relations perspective but also shows he “has an Eastern worldview, not Western.”
“Even if you do NOT believe in the Resurrection, then … Jesus conquered the Roman Empire without firing a shot, or killing kids. If you DO believe in the Resurrection, then duh: Jesus rose from the dead and joined the Father. Genghis Khan did not. He was worm food, and now bones. I’d say both demonstrate Jesus has a significant advantage,” he added.
The debate over Netanyahu’s comments comes amid concerns regarding the influence religion and especially eschatology are having in the Iran war, which could soon escalate to putting U.S. troops on the ground, according to Pentagon sources who spoke to CBS News on Friday.
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