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Faith leaders can no longer afford to stay out of politics, according to Gedaliah Blum, co-founder of the Heartland Initiative.
His organization focuses on public diplomacy, education, and grassroots social impact projects that connect international mayors, philanthropists, business leaders, and professionals with their counterparts across all regions of Israel.
“They always said, ‘leave the politics to the politicians,’” Blum told ILTV on the most recent episode of the ILTV News Podcast. “But, as you know, culture and politics have converged. There is no difference anymore.”
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PODCAST 14.04.25
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Blum argued that church leaders have no choice but to bring their millions of followers into politics if they want to see real change. He called it “faith-based diplomacy” and said religious leaders should push key figures into public office—while also keeping them accountable and connected.
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Blum said he started the Heartland Initiative because he felt that Judea and Samaria were being left off the map when high-level visitors came to the region. According to him, Israel’s Foreign Ministry often brought dignitaries to the country but avoided areas like Shiloh and Hebron due to their controversial nature.
However, Blum emphasized that Judea and Samaria—known in religious circles as the biblical heartland—are central to Jewish identity and history.
“There is no legitimacy to Jews being in Tel Aviv if you give up our rights to run Shiloh, Beth El and all these other biblical places,” Blum told ILTV. “There's a reason why people say the Jewish people returned and re-established their state in their ancestral homeland. But the center of the country, before we were exiled, was actually in Judea and Samaria.”
Blum, who lives in the Samarian community of Eli, explained that Judaism stands on three pillars: Torah, people, and land. He compared them to the legs of a stool—if one is removed, the stool cannot stand.
He also voiced concern that modern ideologies are eroding these foundational values. In particular, he said movements like communism, Islamism, and wokeism are “diabolically opposed” to faith. He believes people are only now beginning to wake up to the danger.
“Wokeism is completely against our true values,” Blum said. “Where people [used to] have freedom of expression, people are being canceled. Instead of protection of personal property, we want to take it away and give it to someone else… We are leveraging the Heartland Initiative to connect people back into that base."
“We are using the land to connect people to their Jewish and Christian values,” Blum said.
Watch the full interview: