President Isaac Herzog was in top form in his statesmanlike address to a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday, calling the US-Israel relationship “a sacred bond” and conveying a powerful message of solidarity and hope to Americans and Israelis.
“To us, it is clear that America is irreplaceable to Israel, and Israel is irreplaceable to America,” he said.
In an eloquent 41-minute speech that elicited 29 standing ovations, Herzog appealed to both Americans and Israelis across the political spectrum, declaring, “When the United States is strong, Israel is stronger. And when Israel is strong, the United States is more secure.”
Herzog spoke about controversy in Israel
The president did not shy away from the controversy back home, but highlighted his belief that Israel’s democracy is as vibrant as ever despite the debate over the government’s divisive judicial overhaul plan.
“As president of Israel, I am here to tell the American people, and each of you, that I have great confidence in Israeli democracy,” Herzog said. “Although we are working through sore issues, just like you, I know our democracy is strong and resilient. Israel has democracy in its DNA.”
Herzog cleverly countered the anti-Israel position taken by a cadre of progressive lawmakers, several of whom boycotted his speech.
“I respect criticism, especially from friends, although one does not always have to accept it,” he said. “But criticism of Israel must not cross the line into the negation of the State of Israel’s right to exist. Questioning the Jewish people’s right to self-determination is not legitimate diplomacy – it is antisemitism,” he said to raucous applause.
A day after his Oval Office meeting with President Joe Biden, Herzog hit home all the key points in his speech: halting Iran’s nuclear program, lauding peace with Egypt and Jordan and the game-changing Abraham Accords, praying for normalization with Saudi Arabia, and voicing his “deep yearning” for Israel to make peace with our Palestinian neighbors.
“Palestinian terror against Israel or Israelis undermines any possibility for a future of peace between our peoples,” he said. “The younger generation of Israelis and Palestinians deserve better. They are all worthy of a future to look toward, a future of peace and prosperity – a future of hope.”
On Iran, he said: “Allowing Iran to become a nuclear threshold state – whether by omission or by diplomatic commission – is unacceptable. The world cannot remain indifferent to the Iranian regime’s call to wipe Israel off the map. Tolerating this call and Iran’s measures to realize it is an inexcusable moral collapse.”
Herzog’s address drew praise from politicians across the spectrum, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that the “important speech by the country’s president… expressed our strong and decisive position against Iran. Together we will stand, together we will win.”
Lapid said Herzog showed 'beautiful face of democratic Israel'
Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) said Herzog showed “the beautiful face of democratic Israel, and stressed our shared values: equal rights, freedom of speech, separation of powers, and an independent judiciary.”
Herzog’s speech to Congress was the second ever by an Israeli president, the first having been delivered by his father 35 years ago, which he mentioned at the outset: “Standing here today, representing the Jewish, democratic State of Israel in its 75th year, at the very podium from which my late father, president Chaim Herzog, spoke, is the honor of a lifetime. And I thank you wholeheartedly for it.”
Herzog stressed the deep historic ties between Israel and the US, citing such legendary figures as civil rights activist Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and introducing his daughter, Susannah, sitting in the gallery. He also introduced Leah Goldin, seated next to his wife Michal in the gallery, whose son Hadar was killed in Gaza in 2014, and issued a heartfelt plea for the return of his body together with that of another soldier, Oron Shaul, as well as two live Israeli civilians, Hisham al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu, being held by Hamas. Leah Goldin rose to warm applause, a poignant moment that underscored Herzog’s message of hope.
As he put it at the end of his address, “Israel’s first 75 years were rooted in an ancient dream. Let us base our next 75 years on hope – our shared hope – that we can heal our fractured world, as the closest of allies and friends.”