President Herzog’s speech at a major Jewish community event during his official visit to Australia

Dear sisters and brothers, we are here to say to you: Am Yisrael Chai! No one will deter us!

This morning, soon after my wife Michal and I landed in Sydney, we went directly to Bondi Beach. At the memorial site, we placed two stones from Jerusalem, and stood in silence, thinking of the lives that were taken. We thought of Rabbi Eli, of Matilda, Boris and Sofia, Edith, Reuven, Tania, Marika, Rabbi Yaakov, Adam, Tibor, Peter, Boris, Dan, Alexander. 15 innocent lives, Jewish and non-Jewish, gunned down by cruelty, by hate, by evil, by extremism. Dozens more were wounded, as the Australian people, and the Jewish people worldwide, were left with trauma. The physical and emotional scars from December 14th, will forever be a part of our two nations. May the Almighty comfort you amongst the Mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Dear friends, I am honored to join this beautiful community—which includes bereaved families of Bondi, accompanied by bereaved families of Israel. We have longed to see you and to grieve with you, and we come bearing the prayers of your Israeli family.

Thank you Jeremy Leibler, President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, for your warm introduction and for your solid leadership and integrity. Your Excellency, Governor of New South Wales- Margaret Beazley and the Honorable Premier Chris Minns—true friends of this community; The Honourable Scott Morrison, former Prime Minister of Australia; The Honourable Ron Hoenig MP, Minister for Local Government; Israel’s Ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon- a fine public servant of Israel, who is concluding his diplomatic assignment in Australia and I thank him for his service; Chairman of the World Zionist Organization- my friend Yaakov Hagoel; Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel my friend Doron Almog; Chair of the Fund for Victims of Terror and J-Ready- Former MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies- David Ossip; President of the NSW UIA and co-host of this evening- Gary Pearlstone; Leaders, volunteers, public servants, all people of goodwill.

I will never forget the early reports I received in Jerusalem, about a mass shooting in Sydney. First we heard it was the iconic Bondi Beach. And then, we learned this terror attack targeted the Jewish community gathered for Hannukah. Jewish hearts around the world missed a beat. By the time we lit the first candle in Jerusalem, darkness claimed the lives of 15 innocent people in Sydney.

We will never forget the people we lost, the wounds that were suffered, the families that grieve. And we will never forget the extraordinary ordinary people, who demonstrated courage and humanity, by running towards the fire to rescue strangers.

To all the heroes of Bondi, those who lent a hand, those who prayed for their wounded neighbors, those who gave blood, those who brought flowers and wrote letters, those who sent a meal, those who embraced this incredible community—Each and every one of you has the deep admiration, the respect and the prayers of the Israeli people—for you are the finest of Australia!

Friends, sisters and brothers, I know the tragedy of Bondi is not an isolated event. I know also that it follows two agonizing years for this community. Your Jewish identities became targets in Australia—just as you watched a massacre unfold in Israel.

At 6:29 am on October 7th 2023, Simchat Torah, Hamas launched a savage war on Israel. Thousands of blood-thirsty Jihadist terrorists swarmed into our sovereign state. The devastating trauma impacted every city, every community, every single family in the State of Israel. Every Israeli knows someone who was killed, abducted, wounded, or abused.

Entire families were wiped out. 251 men, women and children were taken hostage into the dungeons of Hamas. Israel was broken-hearted. The Jewish, Democratic State of Israel was fighting to defend itself in a war we did not choose!

Two weeks ago, after 843 long days, our last hostage, our hero, Ran Gvili, returned home. Israel was finally reunited with all our fallen sons and daughters. Only now are we beginning to process this terrible trauma. Only now can we allow ourselves to truly mourn the nearly two thousand people we lost.

Friends, the hatred that triggered the shooting at Bondi is the very same, age-old, plague of antisemitism endured by our parents and grandparents. It began long before October 7th, generations before even the State of Israel was born. Yet somehow- the October 7th massacre, the greatest mass murder of Jews since the Shoah, emboldened closeted antisemites, here in Australia and around the world.

The horrors in Israel empowered Jihadi extremism to rear its ugly head, here, in the country that welcomed thousands and thousands of survivors of the Holocaust, refugees of pogroms, Jews reemerging behind the Iron Curtain. This is what it means to Globalize the Intifada!

We all recall the sickening chants near the Opera house, the firebombing of Addas Yisrael synagogue in Melbourne, the boycotts and threats, the colleagues who turned their backs on their Jewish and Israeli associates, the attacks on college campuses, the escalating rhetoric and shrieking silence. That was the prelude to Bondi.

Nobel Laureat Elie Wiesel taught us: “To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all”. Indeed, the silence, the breach of faith and breach of friendships, were the insult added to the injury.

Friends, this is why we are here in Sydney. Why we had to come. We had to be here with you! Hug you, strengthen you and tell you- Am Yisrael Chai!

I wish to explain. Throughout the war in Israel, Michal and I paid shiva calls and met with over sixteen hundred bereaved families. Two of them are here with us: Yizhar Lifshitz, son of Oded, Noa and Itzik Bonzel, parents of Amit.

Day after day after day, we visited injured civilians and soldiers, deeply traumatized children and first responders. Jews, Muslims, Christians, Bedouin, Druze, citizens of Israel and dozens of foreign nationals. We insisted on meeting these families in person, so that we could look them in the eye as they shared the pain, the anger, and the shock.

Because there are certain emotions one can only fully convey through action. Only by doing. By showing up. And so, in the wake of the horror at Bondi Beach, we felt we must come to Australia to look you in the eye. To show up for you. We have come here not simply to tell you we are with you, but to show you that we are with you.

Dear family, we have come from the Land of Israel, from the beating heart of our people in Jerusalem, from your sisters and brothers, to demonstrate our solidarity and our love, with all our might and our heart, body and soul! We are here to express that you, the Jews of Australia are as much a part of Israel, as Israel is a part of you!

We have come to declare: you are not alone! We have come to be with you, just as you have always shown up for us!

Australian Jewry has been with us in our greatest hours of need. This community is inspirational in its connection to Israel, in its proactive Zionism.

Your carry your Jewish identities with pride, and I embrace the opportunity to recognize this incredible community, your contribution to Australia and to the people of Israel! I view my visit here as an opportunity to tell the story of who we are, as a people and as a nation.

And I am here also to re-invigorate the important relations between our two strong democracies. I know that by working together we will find the way to expand collaboration and increase understanding and upgrade our relations. During my visit, I intend to discuss it with your national leadership.

Friends, 40 years ago my late parents Chaim and Aura Herzog, traveled to Australia on the first State visit of an Israeli President and First Lady. When they arrived at the Central Synagogue at Bondi, my parents were greeted by 1,000 Jewish children, singing and waving flags.

I am sure some of those young children are with us here tonight- because for Australian Jewry, multi-generational Jewish engagement is an ongoing family tradition. Australian Jews have a deep sense of purpose and a strong sense of history.

The history that connects our nations, Australia and Israel, is a history of ANZACs liberating Beersheba, of offering refuge to survivors of the Shoah, of casting the first UN vote in favor of a nation-state for the Jewish people, with the immortal words- “Australia: yes!”

Our nations are bound by this history, by decades of close friendship, by this outstanding Jewish community, and now, dear friends, we are unfortunately bound also by tragedy. Together we grieve, together we remember, and together we will build a safer future we can share! I thank you all, and I salute the many leaders in this room.

I salute the unsung heroes of all ages, the patriots, the kind neighbors, the good people of Sydney, the good people of Australia.

To each of you, I say: Australia- yes! Yes to thriving Jewish communities; Yes to respecting those who believe and practice; Yes to safeguarding communities of every background, color, religion and accent; Yes to dialing down hateful rhetoric; Yes to rebuilding trust and renewing faith; Yes to responsible leadership! Yes to moral clarity! Yes to clear, proactive measures! Yes to mutual responsibility! Yes to a resilient Israel! Yes to strong, bipartisan relations between Israel and Australia!

Am Yisrael Chai!