(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)
President Herzog: “The world must understand the evil that carried out here the most brutal crimes against humanity, is the same evil that kills Jews and hurts Jews all over the world, and we must defeat it.”
President Isaac Herzog today (Wednesday, 8 October 2025), addressed the memorial ceremony held on the site of the Nova Festival where more than 370 Israelis and other nationalities were murdered by terrorists from Gaza, and more than 150 taken hostage into Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Addressing the memorial, led by the families of the victims, the President praised the courage and resilience of the survivors and the families. He stressed the importance of efforts to bring the hostages home, and speaking in English, called on the international community to recognize that the same brutal hatred was targeting Jews around the world.
President Herzog: “We gather here in memory and in sorrow, remembering our loved ones who came to celebrate nature and love and music, and who were barbarically assassinated by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. Two years have passed since that dark day when Israel’s soul was torn apart and Hamas terrorists unleashed unspeakable evil upon innocent women, men and children. People from 36 nationalities who were brutally massacred and taken captive. We shall remember them for eternity. From that darkness rose the courage of our soldiers, the heroism of our citizens. We will not rest. We will not be silent until all 48 hostages are back home.
The last two years have also seen a terrible wave of antisemitism across the world. From here, from the ground soaked with our children’s blood, we stand shoulder to shoulder with Jewish communities everywhere.
The world must understand the evil that carried out here the most brutal crimes against humanity, is the same evil that kills Jews and hurts Jews all over the world, and we must defeat it.
I thank our friends from around the world for their messages of solidarity and condolences, and I extend special thanks to President Donald Trump for his tireless efforts to bring our hostages back home, to bring about real change and a new direction in the Middle East.”
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