Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, has informed members of the Jewish neighborhood “when one Jew is harm, all Jews really feel their ache” as he begins a four-day go to to Australia to talk with survivors of the Bondi terror assault and the victims’ households.
Herzog, who arrived in Sydney on Monday morning, laid a wreath on the website of the antisemitic assault alongside the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns.
Alongside together with his spouse, Michal Herzog, he additionally positioned two stones from Jerusalem at a memorial outdoors the Bondi Pavilion. The president mentioned putting stones on graves within the Jewish custom represented “the endurance of reminiscence, the burden of loss and the unbreakable bond between the residing and people now we have misplaced”.
“These stones … will stay right here at Bondi for eternity in sacred reminiscence of the victims and as a reminder that the bonds between good individuals of all faiths and all nations will proceed to carry sturdy within the face of terror, violence and hatred,” Herzog informed reporters.
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In a publish on X, the Israeli embassy mentioned the presidential couple had been met by Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, after their aircraft touched down in Sydney on Monday.
The Govt Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) welcomed Herzog’s go to as a second of profound significance.
The co-chief government, Alex Ryvchin, mentioned Herzog’s go to would imply “an excellent deal” for survivors and households.
“His go to will elevate the spirits of a pained neighborhood and, we hope, it would result in a much-needed recalibration of bilateral relations between two historic allies,” he mentioned.
Talking at Bondi, Herzog paid tribute to “15 harmless souls who gathered to have fun Hanukah, the pageant of sunshine, [and] had been massacred in chilly blood”.
He remembered “the youngest sufferer, candy Matilda, [who] was simply 10 years outdated” in addition to 87-year-old Alex Kleytman, who “survived the extermination of 6 million Jews within the Holocaust solely to be murdered for being a Jew on the seashores of Sydney”.
“Within the aftermath of the assault, the individuals of Australia stood collectively in grief and solidarity with the Jewish neighborhood; the world’s solely Jewish state, the state of Israel, and the nation of Israel stood along with the Australian individuals,” he mentioned.
“We stood with Australian Jews for we’re one large household, and when one Jew is harm, all Jews really feel their ache.”
Herzog mentioned an increase in antisemitism all over the world was “not a Jewish downside” however a “world emergency”.
He welcomed steps taken by the Australian authorities for the reason that assault however, when requested if he shared the frustrations of the Jewish neighborhood about responses beforehand, mentioned: “These frustrations had been shared by many, many people.”
Herzog later posted footage of him and Israel’s first girl embracing victims’ members of the family.
“From right here at Bondi, I embrace the bereaved households, pray for a speedy restoration for all these injured, and categorical my deepest gratitude to all these heroes who saved harmless lives below hearth,” he wrote.
The small print of Herzog’s go to have been tightly managed. He was anticipated to deal with neighborhood occasions in Sydney earlier than travelling to Canberra and Melbourne.
Israel’s authorities press workplace mentioned Herzog would meet the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, the governor common, Sam Mostyn, “in addition to with leaders from throughout the political spectrum”.
Albanese invited Herzog after the 14 December antisemitic taking pictures, saying his go to was supposed to foster a larger sense of unity.
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