‘Once again in Jewish history we demand: Let our people go’: Herzog says in address to DC rally

(Israel) –  Two hundred thousand people gathered at a pro-Israel rally on November 14  in Washington DC to lobby for the return of the hostages that were kidnapped in southern Israel during the brutal massacre by Hamas on October 7. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog virtually addressed the crowd from the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

“Today we come together, as a family, one big mishpacha, to march for Israel. To march for the babies, the boys and girls, women and men viciously held hostage by Hamas,” Herzog says.

“To march for the right of every Jew to live proudly and safely in America, in Israel and around the world. Above all, we come together to march for good over evil, for human morality over blood thirst. We march for light over darkness,” he adds.

“Eighty years ago, Jews came out of Auschwitz and vowed ‘never again.’ As the blue and white flag was hoisted over our ancient homeland, we vowed ‘never again.’ Forty days ago, a terrorist army invaded the sovereign State of Israel and butchered hundreds upon hundreds of Israelis in the largest massacre since the Holocaust. Let us cry out, together: never again. Never again is now,” he says.

“We, the people of Israel are grateful to President Biden, his administration, and so many members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. The moral clarity and bold actions of our American allies, demonstrate the depth of the US-Israel alliance, which is stronger than ever before,” the president says.

“Once again in Jewish history we demand: Let our people go. Whilst our loved ones are held captive in Gaza, and our soldiers are fighting for our beloved Israel – Jews all over the world are assaulted for being Jewish. The hatred, the lies, the brutality, the disgraceful outburst of ancient antisemitism are an embarrassment to all civilized people and nations.”

Jews in America must be safe. Jews all over the world must be safe.

“To paraphrase the Prophet Zecharia: Boys and girls shall once again play in the streets of Be’eri and Sderot and the elderly shall sit peacefully by the walkways of Nahal Oz and Ofakim. And when the sounds of life and laughter return to the villages, the kibbutzim and the cities, our constant yearning for peace will return as well,” he says.

This article was reprinted from the Times of Israel.