On Dec. 9, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Twitter account featured a video clip from 1988, documenting his meeting with the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, leader of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement, in Brooklyn, New York. Netanyahu, then 39 years old, had just completed his term as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations and was about to run for a slot on the Likud party’s Knesset list. The “Rebbe” wished him success, saying, “You will need to struggle against 119 other people. You certainly shouldn’t be intimidated by that, because the Holy One, Blessed be He, is on your side."

This video clip has been making the rounds for years, particularly among members of the Chabad Hasidic group. In the past few years, however, it has gone viral, particularly on popular ultra-Orthodox websites, where it has become iconic. Netanyahu himself has used it extensively too, but until now he used it mostly with his ultra-Orthodox audiences. Now, however, just hours before a third election is likely to be announced, he has decided to post it to his Twitter account for his 1.7 million followers. He had good reason for doing that too.

Netanyahu is preparing for a tough fight within the Likud against his rival, former Minister Gideon Saar. He is certainly aware of the people on the right and in the religious Zionist camp arguing that, given the current circumstances, there is no choice but to replace him in order to save “right-wing rule.” That is why he is trying to draw a connection between the “prophecy” of the highly regarded rabbi and the current political situation. Anyone familiar with the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe is aware that he opposed territorial compromise. That is why, through the Rebbe, Netanyahu can present himself as a historic figure in the annals of the Jewish people, destined to prevent “devastating” political moves such as the partition of the Land of Israel.

Just one day earlier, at a conference organized by the Makor Rishon newspaper, a leading mouthpiece of the religious Zionist movement, Netanyahu warned, “If I am taken down, they will take you down too.” He ended his remarks by saying, “Anyone who causes rifts in our camp is effectively abandoning Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), because defense of Judea and Samaria will be a central tenet of the policy I have advocated, and that I will continue to advocate. … It is time for us to join forces. It is time for us to come together, to ensure the integrity and wholeness of the State of Israel and the Land of Israel.”