At Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s funeral, Herzog apologizes to hostages: ‘We failed to protect you, failed to bring you home safely’

President Isaac Herzog apologizes to the Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered over the weekend while delivering a eulogy at Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s funeral in Jerusalem.

“Beloved Hersh, with a torn and broken heart, I stand here today as the president of the State of Israel, bidding you farewell and asking for your forgiveness, from you, and from Carmel, from Eden, from Almog, from Alex, and Ori, and from all your loved ones,” Herzog states.

“I apologize on behalf of the State of Israel, that we failed to protect you in the terrible disaster of October 7, that we failed to bring you home safely,” he says, recalling how on the Jewish fast day of Tisha B’Av he and the Goldberg-Polins “prayed at the President’s Residence for your return, together with all the hostages. And now, our heart, already broken, is shattered into pieces.”

“Now – the State of Israel has an urgent and immediate task,” he continues, asserting that “decision-makers must do everything possible, with determination and courage, to save those who can still be saved” — a mission which he insists “is not a political goal, and it must not become a political dispute.”

Rather, he says, “it is a supreme moral, Jewish, and human duty of the State of Israel to its citizens” and “we did not fulfill this duty. And now – we have a sacred and shared obligation, to stand up and bring them all back to their homeland. For the spirit, resilience, and unity of Israel.”

“Of course, we do not forget for a moment our obligation to hold accountable the despicable murderers who butchered you – Hersh – your friends, our sisters, and our brothers. Here too, the mission is clear and binding: To continue fighting relentlessly against the murderous terrorist organization Hamas, which has once again proven that there is no end to its savagery and the crimes against humanity it is willing to commit.”