Haifa Mayor Einat Kalisch-Rotem speaks at the rally marking 100 days since October 7, as a family member of hostage Itay Svirsky.
“I want to believe in hope, to be a free country in our land,” she says, quoting Israel’s Hatikva anthem. The hostages were born free and are now imprisoned as captives, says Kalisch-Rotem, and “we can only sing the anthem with all our hearts if we haven’t lost our hope,” she says.
Kalisch-Rotem says that as the mayor of Haifa, she is a public servant whose job is to serve the public.
“This war started in our homes and our safe rooms, the rooms that are supposed to save us,” says Kalisch-Rotem, adding that the only way to believe in Israel again is to have leaders “who lead with modesty and wisdom,” and to have the hostages returned in a deal, at any price.
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Sunday, January 14, 2024
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