Lighting torch at Independence Day ceremony, Gantz issues call for unity

Knesset Speaker Benny Gantz addresses the annual Independence Day torch lighting ceremony at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem.

“Here, from this mount, year after year, we connect between the pain and strength,” he says, referring to the transition from Memorial Day to Independence Day.

Gantz issues a call for all Israelis to be treated equally and urges citizens to brace for further difficult times ahead.

“Tough days are upon us and we must prepare for no less difficult days,” he says. “We’ll win this war and with this lesson will work to establish a new ethos, a story of mutual guarantee. A story that won’t be defined by outsiders or enemies but rather by us.”

Gantz then lights the first torch.