(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)
President Isaac Herzog this evening (Tuesday, 29 April 2025), opened Israel’s national Memorial Day with the traditional state ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, held in the presence of Defense Minister Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, senior IDF leadership, and bereaved families from across the country.
In his address, President Herzog reiterated the importance of the immediate return of all the hostages held in Gaza, and called on the nation to unite in the face of loss and adversity, urging a shared national commitment to the memory of the fallen and the future of the country.
Following the sounding of the memorial siren, the President noted, “This year, perhaps more than ever, the siren’s sound is also a true alarm, commanding us: unite and come together. Do not tear apart from within. Do not destroy our home.
It rises further and further, like a terrible cry, a wail, a scream that pierces the gates of Heaven. For the fallen men and women, the murdered; for the many wounded in body and soul; for our kidnapped brothers and sisters—the beloved, the tormented—held in captivity and distress for more than a year and a half.”
He stressed, “I call out to our brothers and sisters in the hands of murderers: A whole nation is missing you, worrying for you, crying your cry. A nation tormented beyond measure. A nation that knows—deep in its soul, burned with longing and anxiety—that the wound cannot heal until you return. Until you return to us. Here, at the place where our soldiers swear to defend the homeland and the freedom of Israel—we too swear, I swear: not to rest and not to be still. Not to rest and not to be still. Not even for a moment. To act with all our might, by every means, to take one more step, and another, until all of you come home. Every single one.”
Addressing the pain of multi-generational loss, President Herzog spoke of families who have endured repeated bereavement through Israel’s wars and waves of terror.
President Herzog then called on Israelis to rise above division and discord: “Enough division! Enough polarization! Enough hatred! We must not, by our own hands, bring about the destruction of our national home—the home of all Israelis, the home of the entire Jewish people.”
He ended his remarks with a plea to safeguard Israel’s unity and democratic foundations, and a blessing for the hostages, the wounded, and Israel’s security forces: “On this sacred day, in this sacred place, we also bear a sacred duty: To recommit ourselves to the brave, shared Israeli covenant… to rise above divisions, and to transform this moment of pain into a moment of shared rebuilding.”
Later in the evening, at 21:15, President Herzog and the First Lady attended the “Songs in Their Memory” event at the Knesset.
