A message from Israeli President Isaac Herzog

As Israelis and Jewish communities around the world mark the anniversary of the atrocities carried out by Hamas terrorists on 7 October, and while 101 hostages remain held in brutal captivity by terrorists in Gaza, President Isaac Herzog has sent a message to Jewish communities and friends of Israel taking part in vigils, memorials, and ceremonies all over world.

In his 7 October message, the president stressed the resilience of the Israeli people and the importance of standing united and strong against antisemitism across the globe.

“Today marks a full year since the earth shook, since the worst of human brutality and hatred ripped apart our sense of safety and changed our world forever. A year since our women, children, and old people were hunted down in their beds, burned to death, beheaded, raped, and shot. A year since the gathering of our beautiful young people turned into a scene of carnage, torture, and death. A year since hundreds of our people were brutally dragged into captivity, dead and alive.

“And we must be honest, here, now, when the passage of time should be able to offer comfort and some sense of closure, the earth shakes still. Our wounds still cannot fully heal because they are ongoing. Because hostages are still being tortured, executed, and dying in captivity. Because they and their families are still living in the loss and the terror of 7 October right at these very moments. Because tens of thousands of families still cannot return home. In many senses, we’re all still living in the aftermath of 7 October.

“It’s everywhere in our country. It’s also in the antisemitism that came charging forward throughout the world in the wake of the war with Hamas. It’s in the ongoing threat to the Jewish state by Iran and its terror proxies, who are blinded by hatred and bent on the destruction of our one and only Jewish nation state. It’s in the tangible fear, uncertainty, and anxiety about the future, all of these are here with us still.

“But friends, the divider we can create in time so as to remember still carries so much meaning. This time, one year later, is an invitation to come close to the pain and grief, to look at it with open eyes and open hearts, remembering what we have lost, which reminds us also who we are. We are a people with the power to keep standing up again and again against hatred. To get back on our feet from the ashes of tragedy. To fight and to survive, to heal and rebuild. And in truth, this year of so much heartbreak and devastation, which has plagued Jew, Muslim, Christian, Druze in my nation and Jews all over the world and other friends, this year has compelled us to return to the core truths of our peoplehood. It has compelled us to reconnect with one another, and to recommit ourselves to the path of self-reflection, collective responsibility, and social justice that are the spiritual legacy of our people.

“And we really have been there for one another this year in beautiful expressions of love and solidarity. We haven’t abandoned our deep longing and aspiration for peace with our neighbours. And we hold onto this intention still, even as we insist that as Jews, we deserve to feel safe and to be safe, regardless of where on earth we may live.

“We will emerge from this difficult time, we will overcome the hatred, and we will rebuild. With a vital spirit that has defined us, we will come together to recover again and again. Inspired by the courage of bravery and the beauty of everyone we lost, we will not stop believing that a better world is possible.”