President Isaac Herzog asked for forgiveness in the name of the State of Israel for the 1956 Kafr Kassem massacre in which 48 Arab-Israelis were shot dead by Border Police officers.
"The killing and harming innocent people is strictly forbidden. This must remain above all political controversy," said Herzog during a visit to Kafr Kassem on Friday. "I bow my head to the memory of the forty-nine dead, bow my head to you, their families, and to the residents of Kafr Kassem, and ask, in my name and in the name of the State of Israel - forgiveness."
"This is our opportunity - as a public - to say no to prejudice. This is our opportunity - as a human society, to strengthen what we have in common as citizens and neighbors," added Herzog. "This is not fate, this is a shared destiny. This is our opportunity to uproot discrimination and hatred."