President Isaac Herzog visited Ben-Gurion Airport on Monday to welcome Israelis who returned home on a rescue flight.
Herzog described the return of previously stranded Israelis as “an inspiring phenomenon.”
“People want to return home, enter Israel, and bear the burden together - even under shelling, with sirens, alarms, shelters, and many threats. And yet, we overcome the challenges and manage to do so in an extraordinary way,” Herzog said.
He drew a connection between Israelis returning home after the long wartime journey and the upcoming holiday of Passover, and the ancient Jewish exodus from Egypt.
“There is also a symbolism in this that connects to Passover, the holiday in which we talk about leaving slavery and freedom,” he said. “This Passover, we are also talking about returning to Israel, about entering home, especially to return safely.”
Herzog thanks Airport Authority, Miri Regev
Herzog expressed his gratitude to the Airport Authority and its chairman, Maj.-Gen. Yiftah Ron Tal, and Director General Sharon Kedmi for working to ensure that the airport remains functional as the war with Iran rages on.
He additionally thanked Transportation Minister Miri Regev and the Civil Aviation Authority for “the risk assessments, performance analysis, and the professional work being done to ensure that everyone returns safely, while military operations continue as usual.”
At Ben-Gurion Airport, Herzog visited the airport’s control tower to observe the ongoing activities. He additionally received an overview of airport operations with a status assessment of the airport’s activities and ongoing wartime operational challenges.