Herzog Fires Back at Turkey’s Foreign Minister: “Israel Is Here to Stay”

President Isaac Herzog spoke yesterday evening (Sunday) at the state memorial ceremony for the founder of modern Zionism, Benjamin Ze'ev Herzl, where he strongly condemned comments made by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan against Israel.

Earlier, Fidan said, "Israel has become a burden humanity can no longer bear."

Responding to the remarks, Herzog described them as "horrific antisemitism."

"Israel is here to stay," the president said. "Israel is a blessing to the world. It stands on the front line of the war against terrorism that threatens the entire free world."

In his speech, Herzog described Herzl as "a leader who succeeded in awakening the Jewish people, who were scattered across the world, and bringing them together into one national movement."

He said Israel is now living through "one of the most fateful periods it has ever known," more than 1,000 days after the Simchat Torah massacre of October 7.

Quoting Herzl's The Jewish State, the president cited the words: "In times of distress, we become one united body," adding that Israel's strength had become evident during the current crisis.

"When we encountered this hour of trouble, we awakened. We rose like lions and roared like lions," he said.

Addressing the upcoming election campaign and growing political tensions, Herzog called for national unity.

"We must protect our national unity and not inflame public discourse," he said. "Will we wait for the next disaster to remember that we live here together, as one united body, or will we choose to remember it between wars as well? That is our test. Because elections are not a civil war."

"Elections are our ability to change the reality in which we live through arguments and disagreements, but beneath them there must be the understanding that we are building a shared tomorrow here. Our descendants will not remember the arguments we had. They will live within what we choose to build."

The president also addressed statements made earlier in the day by two Israeli government ministers who said they would not comply with a future High Court ruling.

"Refusing to comply with a court ruling is a red line that must not be crossed under any circumstances," Herzog said.