Herzog to Congress: Israel became a ‘beautiful democracy’ against ‘all odds’

WASHINGTON — With US president Harry Truman’s grandson, Clifton Truman Daniel, in the audience, President Isaac Herzog recalls Truman meeting his grandfather, chief rabbi Yitzhak Isaac Halevi Herzog, in 1949.

“Rabbi Herzog thanked him for being the first world leader to officially recognize the State of Israel, 11 minutes after its foundation. He spoke of the divine providence that destined president Truman to help bring about the rebirth of Israel, after 2,000 years of exile. Witnesses of the encounter recalled tears running down President Truman’s cheeks.”

Herzog turns to Israel’s diversity and innovative culture.

“Against all odds, the Jewish people returned home and built a national home, which became a beautiful Israeli democracy, a mosaic of Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and Circassians, secular, traditional and Orthodox, of all denominations, and all possible views and lifestyles,” he says.

“A land which welcomed the ingathering of exiles from one hundred different countries. A land which became the Startup Nation – a bustling hub of innovation and creativity, social action and intellectual discovery, spiritual awakening and business ventures, scientific ingenuity and lifesaving medical breakthroughs.”