Shortly before the first anniversary of the Hamas massacre on October 7, Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced his intention to overcome hatred in the region.
“We have not given up our deep desire and pursuit of peace with our neighbors,” Herzog said in a speech. “We are a people with the power to rise up against hate again and again.”
He emphasized: “We will not stop believing that a better world is possible.”
At the same time, Herzog reminded that the wounds of the people of the country still cannot be fully healed. He claimed that “hostages continue to be tortured, executed and die in captivity.”
Herzog said Israel is still experiencing the aftermath of the brutal terrorist attack.
He noted that tens of thousands of internally displaced people are still unable to return to their homes, and that global anti-Semitism has emerged after the Gaza war as a result of the Hamas massacre, he said.
The terrorist attack destroyed people’s sense of security in Israel, and the Jewish state continues to be threatened by Iran and its allies, he said.
For Muslims, Christians and Druze in Israel, as well as Jews around the world, it has been a year “full of suffering and devastation,” Herzog added.
