In his inspiring address to the nation on Wednesday night, President Isaac Herzog stressed “the strength and resilience, spirit and soul” of Israeli society, urging citizens to stand together and not give up hope as the country’s security forces battle the Hamas terrorist regime in Gaza.
Herzog hit all the right notes in his speech.
“It’s been almost a month since our country underwent a serious change,” he began. “For almost a month, we have been in a war like no other. Almost a month has passed since that cursed day when the sun rose, the flowers blossomed, and butchers slaughtered, slaughtered, and slaughtered – women and men, elderly and infants, from kibbutzim and communities, cities and towns.”
In the past month, the president said, he and his wife Michal have met families and communities displaced from their homes, and visited the wounded in hospitals and the families of those missing or being held hostage. “Truly an Israeli mosaic like no other,” he noted. “The pain of the families of the hostages and the missing is simply unfathomable. My conversations with them are the most painful conversations I have held in all of my life.”
Calling for unity amid Israel's darkest hour
Repeating the message he conveys in these conversations, Herzog looked directly into the camera and said, “I say to you what I told the families: unequivocally, the hostages are in our thoughts, and their return is an integral part of the success of this campaign – of course, alongside victory in this decisive war against the enemy and restoring security to all Israeli citizens.”
Reassuring families of the hostages, he said, “I knowingly commit to you, that the best minds – thousands of Israelis, from the country’s leadership to every level of the security services – will work with professionalism and dedication, every minute of every day, to fulfill our moral duty as a country – to bring them back home.”
As an example of Israeli heroism and resourcefulness, Herzog pointed to the successful rescue of IDF Pvt. Ori Megidish from Gaza earlier this week, “in a bold, resourceful, and determined joint operation by our forces.”
In response to the psychological war being waged by a monstrous enemy using the most abhorrent of tools, Herzog declared: “They want to scare us with videos, rumors, and lies. They try to undermine us psychologically, to hurt our personal and national spirit. We will not let them succeed. We just won’t give in to them. Our spirit cannot be broken.”
Urging Israelis not to spread unfounded rumors, he expressed his appreciation for the responsibility shown by Israeli media in their decision not to play into the hands of Hamas. “Among other things, the enemy seeks to incite hatred within us – between Jewish citizens and Arab citizens,” he said. “Such attempts must be fought uncompromisingly and unequivocally. We must eradicate any incarnation of enmity, racism, and violence towards different groups within us. Remember that there are dozens of Arab citizens here who paid with their lives in the terrible massacre, and as part of the security forces and the IDF.”
Urging all Israelis to express their “pain, concern, and tears,” the president then zoomed in on what he called a source of great hope at this time: the unbreakable Israeli spirit. “It blows through each outreached hand, in the exemplary Israeli volunteerism and mutual responsibility, seeking to strengthen, to embrace, to support,” he said. “This spirit is you – my sisters and brothers – the people of Israel. Israeli society is our true secret weapon. You are my greatest hope, our greatest hope. Am Yisrael Chai! (The people of Israel lives!)”
“Above all,” he said, “we have national resilience and unending strength. And with us at every moment, we have the power of hope.”
He concluded his address by quoting from Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem: “Our hope is not lost, the 2,000-year-old hope, to be a free people in our country, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.”
As Israel wages war against Hamas in Gaza, we mourn together for our fallen soldiers, wish the wounded a speedy recovery, and pray for the safe return of the hostages. Above all, we must be united and steadfast, internalizing and sharing Herzog’s message of strength, resilience, and hope for a better future.