David Ben-Gurion was very well known for his connection to the Tanakh. Despite the fact that he was not religious, much of his outlook and worldview, and perception of Israel's place in the world, was based on tanakh. he very regularly, and very publicly, studied from his tanakh that he kept handy.
After Ben-Gruion, the tanakh, while perhaps still in use by some of Israel's leaders, mostly got pushed back to the bookshelf and was not studied as regularly or as publicly.
And in the general public there was a similar trend.
PM Bibi Netanyahu is closer to David Ben-Gurion, in this regard, than previous prime ministers. besides for the fact that his Minister of Education Gideon Saar has gone on record a number of times promoting the study of tanakh in the school system along with general Jewish studies being increased, Netanyahu himself supports it as well.
Yom Ha'Atzmaut is the day of the annual International Chidon of Tanakh. This year's chidon features, among all the brilliant candidates, the son of the prime minister, Avner Netanyahu, as the representative from the Jerusalem region.
The participants and their families all met in the prime ministers office for a pre-chidon event. At the event, Bibi Netanyahu said, "Yerushalayim is the city of the Tanakh, and the tanakh is the book of life. It is the life story of the nation of Israel."
Netanyahu also told the group that he regularly studies the tanakh, with at least weekly sessions reading different sections.
Netanyahu further told the group that "we are in the process of encouraging the study of tanakh. It is a concept we are implementing around the country, and I am happy to see it is creating waves even abroad. It is important that you learn tanakh, and study it day and night.... And after the chidon is over, you should continue learning tanakh."
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