Time Magazine on Monday published President Yitzhak Herzog’s op-ed titled, “Israel’s President: Our Darkest Hour Casts a Shadow on the Entire World.”
“Not since the Holocaust have more Jews been murdered in one day. The numbers of dead in the Simchat Torah Massacre are still rising as Israel’s soldiers and rescue services discover more and more families murdered in their homes,” Herzog began. “Not since the Holocaust have we seen such images of innocent Jewish mothers and children, teenagers and old women loaded into trucks and taken away into captivity.”
And, “Not since the vile crimes of ISIS, have we witnessed such barbarity. Indeed, this is what Hamas has done: imported, adopted, and replicated the savagery of ISIS. Whole families have been wiped out. Mothers and fathers, with babes in arms, murdered in cold blood. Young people at a party. Old people—even Holocaust survivors themselves. Massacred. Their bodies burned and abused. Along with dozens of Israelis taken away are other nationalities.”
“Over the past days, I have spoken with leaders from around the world. I appreciate their support for Israel’s right to defend its people in the face of this abhorrent evil. I appreciate the outpouring of goodwill we have seen around the world with national landmarks and monuments illuminated with Israeli flags in solidarity with our people,” the President wrote, “But platitudes and sympathies must translate into tangible support.”
Herzog concluded by reassuring his readers that “just like in the past, even in the face of the most difficult times, Israel will overcome, the Israeli spirit will overcome, and we will emerge stronger, more resilient, and above all, united.”
