President Herzog asks Israelis to unite in the spirit of Jewish High Holidays
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday urged the nation's citizens to reconcile at a time when society is divided over the government-proposed judicial overhaul, which has resulted in thousands of Israelis showing up to protest for the majority of 2023.
This season during the Jewish High Holidays is a time of soul-searching and forgiveness. Herzog asked that the spirit of the holiday be manifested in the Jewish state, which he claimed is going through a crisis.
“We are in a period of crisis in Israeli society,” Herzog said. “A period in which our ability to live here together is being tested, a period in which voices are often heard saying: ‘Either us or them.'”
“The period of forgiveness has always been a unifying time,” Herzog said in reference to the nation's upcoming Yom Kippur observance when people repent and ask for forgiveness.
“During this period, for generations upon generations, it was common for women and men of all denominations and all traditions to do a personal soul-searching… to also do a general, communal and national soul-searching. These days oblige us to do soul-searching.
Herzog noted that ongoing events “call us to pay attention to the crisis and its consequences – economic, social and especially security – and to understand that we are all being tested here. All of us, all of Israel’s citizens, certainly everyone who has influence in the public sphere, and first and foremost our elected officials.
“The State of Israel is in one of the most difficult situations in its history as far as Israeli cohesion is concerned, and the time has come for us to act in the spirit of the Days of Mercy and Forgiveness, abandon the discourse of polarization and isolation, and do everything to get out of the crisis together,” Herzog added.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
