Herzog at Yad Vashem: ‘History won’t forgive those destroying Israel from within’

Speaking at the official state ceremony at Yad Vashem for Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday, President Isaac Herzog made an urgent plea for national unity in the face of “terrible” divisions within society and said “history will not forgive” those who are dismantling the Jewish state from within.

“I call upon you from the bottom of my heart: Let us unite together, the entire House of Israel,” Herzog pleaded. “Let us turn these days – the Ten Holy Days – from now until Independence Day, into a moment of National responsibility. Let us lower the flames. Let us mend our hearts.”

Herzog said he often meets with Holocaust survivors sharing horrific personal stories, but they all conclude with the same message: “President, please, we beg, we demand — the division within us is terrible. Let there be unity in the people.”

“History will not forgive those who behave irresponsibly and dismantle us from within,” Herzog said. “We must not allow the poison of social media, and the experts in smearing and polarization, to take over the soul of the people and destroy us from within.”

His comments come amid stark divisions in Israeli society roiled by more than 18 months of war and government efforts to overhaul the judiciary, a move seen by many as undermining the country’s democracy and rule of law.

This year’s ceremony marked 80 years since the end of the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their accomplices. The ceremony’s theme this year was “Out of the Depths: The Anguish of Liberation and Rebirth.”

Herzog said that while nothing compares to “the scale and systematicness” of the Holocaust, “it’s impossible not to be exposed to the terrifying testimonies from the heart of the horror on October 7… and not be shocked by the echoes of that historical catastrophe.”

Nonetheless, he said, their stories can also be viewed as part of a larger victory for the Jewish people, returned to their land.

“I talk to [survivors] and am exposed to incomprehensible life stories. And suddenly I find myself saying – sometimes silently – to myself, sometimes aloud – to them: Here – you won. Here – we won.”

‘Exactly like the Nazis’

Speaking after Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likened the Hamas terror group to the Nazis and vowed to bring all the hostages back from Gaza.

“Indeed, They are exactly like the Nazis, just like Hitler,” Netanyahu said. “They wish to kill and destroy all of the Jews, and they openly declare their intention to destroy the state of the Jews. They say so out loud, but it’s not going to happen. We are determined to annihilate the monsters of Hamas, these monsters who committed the worst massacre that we’ve experienced since the Holocaust.”

Netanyahu stressed the importance of fighting evil, using his decisions regarding the southern Gaza city of Rafah last spring as an example. “Exactly a year ago, I stood in this very same place, and I spoke adamantly against those elements in the international community who sought to tie our hands. They warned us that if we enter Rafah, they will impose an arms embargo on Israel,” he said. “I said that, as the Prime Minister of the State of Israel, no one will prevent us from defending ourselves. No one will tie our hands. If we need to stand alone, we shall stand alone.”

Netanyahu contrasted the vulnerable state of Jews during the Holocaust with Israel’s current military strength. “During the Holocaust, we were like dust carried away by the wind,” he said. “Today, we have a powerful force that protects us, respected by the whole world. We have a country, we have an army, we have security forces.”

“We will never surrender,” Netanyahu says. “Victory demands resilience. Thanks to the resilience and unity of all of the citizens of Israel, we have already achieved great achievements, and we will achieve further achievements until victory comes.”

Relating to his visit to Hungary earlier this month, Netanyahu recalled standing at the shoes memorial on the bank of the Danube River, where thousands of Jews removed their footwear before being killed.

“What a terrible sight, what a terrible monument,” Netanyahu said. “My wife and I looked away momentarily to the stickers with the images of our heroes, from the reminders of the Holocaust to the Israeli flags and the yellow ribbons demonstrating to the whole world our commitment to bring back all of our hostages.”

“We will bring back all the hostages,” Netanyahu vowed. “We will triumph over Hamas, and we will prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons. We will fight the zealot regimes threatening the entire world, we shall fight forcefully against those regimes threatening the whole world, and to do so on time. That is the main lesson learned from the Holocaust.”

Netanyahu called the nuclear threat from Iran “a threat not only to our future, but to the fate and future of all human society” and vowed to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons. “The struggle between us and the terror empire in Tehran will decide the fate of all free societies.”

“If Israel, God forbid, loses this campaign, the Western countries will be next in line,” Netanyahu continued. “The tide of fanaticism will overtake them, and it will happen much faster than they think. But Israel will not lose. Israel will not give up. Israel will not surrender.”

Netanyahu arrived late to the ceremony due to a security issue. After an initial announcement that the event would be delayed to wait for him, the decision was made to start without him. After the ceremony, his office said in a statement that his motorcade was ordered delayed because of a suspected unidentified drone in the area. “Once the suspicion was ruled out, the motorcade continued on its way.”

Other security officials arrived at the ceremony on time, including Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, whose dismissal by Netanyahu has become a national scandal.

“Seek to be strong rather than loved’

Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, met Tuesday with the torch lighters before the ceremony.

“Your personal stories are incredibly moving — and they are also our collective stories,” Netanyahu told the survivors in the PMO’s readout.

In the meeting, the premier spoke about the historic 1961 debate between famous British historian Arnold Toynbee and Isaac Herzog, the late uncle of Israel’s current president, who was ambassador to Canada at the time, in which Herzog challenged Toynbee’s comparison of the Jewish people to an extinct “fossil.”

“We are not a fossil. We possess a life force… a great life force that allowed us to overcome the most terrible events in the history of humanity and to return and rebuild our land and our state,” said the prime minister.

“This generation—your descendants, your grandchildren and great-grandchildren-is — is simply extraordinary,” continued Netanyahu, referring to soldiers he’s met on the frontlines in Gaza and Lebanon, who he said “know they are fighting for our future and the survival of our people… They are ready to fight with immense power.”

“I don’t want people to love us,” added Netanyahu, saying that “I’d be glad if they did, but that’s not my goal. I want them to respect us. Nations may hate one another — but they don’t attack each other if there’s mutual respect.

“If you are strong enough, you are respected. If you are weak, they may love you — and still destroy you. That’s what they did to the Jews. They eulogized us,” said the prime minister.

The torch lighters

Six survivors were chosen to light torches in honor of the six million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust.

Arie Durst was born in Lwów in 1933, and survived the Holocaust through forged identities, narrow escapes, and immense courage after losing his brother and being hunted by Nazis. After the war, he immigrated to Israel, became a decorated IDF doctor, and pioneered transplant medicine. He founded Israel’s first transplant unit, championed organ donation, and inspired the Adi organization.

Monika Barzel was born in Berlin in 1937 and survived the Holocaust amid bombings, disease, and the murder of her grandmother. Living in a hospital for Jewish children, she was nearly deported to Auschwitz. After liberation, she rebuilt her life, became a dentist, and eventually immigrated to Israel, continuing to serve others well into old age.

Felix Sorin, born in 1932 in Byelorussia, was separated from his family and survived alone under Nazi occupation by hiding his Jewish identity. He lived in the Minsk Ghetto, escaped, and posed as a Russian orphan until liberation. He later reunited with his family, became a researcher and lecturer, and immigrated to Israel, where he continues to educate others.

Rachel Katz was born in 1937 in Antwerp and survived after her father was killed in Auschwitz and her family went into hiding with help from brave neighbors and the Belgian underground. After the war, she immigrated to Israel and became a devoted advocate for Holocaust survivors, leading support efforts and fighting for their rights through multiple organizations.

Arie Reiter, born in 1929 in Romania, lost his father to forced labor and survived a brutal labor camp himself before liberation. Active in Zionist youth movements, he helped his brothers immigrate to Israel before joining them in 1951. He built a distinguished career in banking, led major community initiatives in Be’er Sheva, and was honored for his lifelong service.

Gad Fartouk, born in Tunisia in 1931, endured hunger and hiding under Nazi occupation, losing his mother and surviving through ingenuity and resilience. After the war, he joined a Zionist youth movement, immigrated to Israel, served in the Palmach, co-founded a kibbutz, and became a professional photographer. His growing family stands as his personal victory over the Holocaust.

Fartouk delivered an impromptu prayer for the hostages before lighting his torch.

שורד השואה גד פרטוק נשא תפילה לחזרת החטופים טרם הדליק את המשואה בטקס הרשמי ביד ושם@yaara_shapira pic.twitter.com/VRZS2WwMXW

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 23, 2025

Eva Erben delivered remarks on behalf of the survivors.

Erben was born in 1930 in Czechoslovakia and was deported to Theresienstadt and later Auschwitz, where she survived by posing as someone older and separating from her mother. After enduring forced labor, a death march, and the loss of her mother, Eva escaped and was hidden by a Czech couple who saved her life. She later became a nurse, married a fellow survivor, and immigrated to Israel, where she continues to share her story with audiences worldwide.

Yehuda Hauptman recited the El Maleh Rahamim prayer for the souls of the martyrs.

Hauptman was born in 1938 in Slovakia and survived the Holocaust after his family fled to Hungary, where they endured ghettoization and the separation of their father to forced labor. After liberation and his mother’s illness, Yehuda and his sister were smuggled to Austria and eventually immigrated to Israel. He served in the IDF, settled in Moshav Tkuma, and remained deeply committed to the land and its defense, even after being evacuated during the October 7, 2023, attacks.

Commemorations were set to continue on Thursday with a two minute siren sounding at 10:00 a.m., when the country comes to a standstill to remember the victims.

Yad Vashem will be open to the general public for a series of ceremonies on Thursday. Other ceremonies and events will be held at several locations during the day, ending with an 8:00 p.m. ceremony at the Ghetto Fighters’ House.