In a significant diplomatic achievement for Israel’s Binyamin Regional Council and the Yesha Council, Governor Yisrael Ganz received the annual “Covenant Award” in Jerusalem from the All Nations Convocation during a major international conference of Christian government leaders, parliamentarians, and senior delegates from around the world.
1+Presenting the honor, organizational leaders commended Ganz’s steadfast leadership and advocacy for communities across Judea and Samaria, noting the award recognized his defense of the biblical heartland. Ganz received the honor directly from Tom Hess, the organization’s founder and president, before delivering a keynote address laying out his strategic vision for the region’s development and expanding international support networks. In his remarks, Ganz directly addressed American foreign policy and the historic milestones achieved under President Donald Trump, emphasizing that decisions long labeled by foreign policy establishments as unfeasible were proven entirely achievable:
“President Trump moved the American embassy to Jerusalem when every expert on earth assured him that the sky would fall. The sky did not fall,” Ganz declared. “He recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights when people told him it was impossible. The maps were simply redrawn. Mr. President, the work is not finished. For years, governments have acted against the heartland of the Bible. One act of American recognition of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria would close a question that the world has deliberately left open for fifty-nine years.”
1+Ganz stressed that the strategic window must be seized immediately: “Not after the next election. Not after the next conference. Not after another generation of our children pays the price of delay. Recognize Israeli sovereignty in the heartland of the country, and see how quickly other nations around the world will recognize reality and adopt the clear language that reflects it. The timing is never right. It was not right in 1967, it was not right in 1993, and it will never be right, because the people raising the objection do not want the timing to improve.”
The Covenant Award is presented annually to prominent Israeli officials and public leaders. Past recipients include government ministers, ambassadors, and municipal leaders such as Gilad Erdan, Yariv Levin, Gideon Sa’ar, Danny Danon, Amichai Chikli, Eli Cohen, and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion. Emphasizing that he viewed the recognition as a collective tribute, Ganz noted: “I accept this award on behalf of the 85,000 residents of Binyamin, on behalf of the soldiers who guard them, and on behalf of a generation that has decided to stop apologizing for coming home.”
Council officials said the recognition reflects years of coordinated diplomatic outreach through Binyamin’s International Desk, which routinely hosts foreign delegations, builds parliamentary ties, fights international delegitimization, and drives economic and infrastructural development across the region.