‘The earth shakes still’: Herzog sends message to Jewish communities marking Oct. 7

As Israel approaches October 7, a year after Hamas’s massacre in southern Israel, President Isaac Herzog issued a message on Saturday to Jewish communities across the globe.

More than 1,200 people were murdered during the attack, and a further 250 were abducted to Gaza. Over 100 hostages remain in captivity, 48 of whom the IDF says have been killed.

Herzog, stressing the resilience of the Israeli people, underlined the importance of standing united and strong against antisemitism across the globe.

“Dear sisters and brothers from all around the world – shalom to all of you, from the President’s Residence in Jerusalem,” Herzog began in his speech. “Today marks a full year since the earth shook, since the worst of human brutality and hatred ripped apart our sense of safety and changed our world forever.

“A year since our women, our children, our old people, were hunted down in their beds, burned to death, beheaded, raped, and shot. A year since the gathering of our beautiful young people turned into a scene of carnage, torture, and death. A year since hundreds of our people were brutally dragged into captivity, dead and alive.

“And we must be honest, here, now, when the passage of time should be able to offer comfort and some sense of closure, the earth shakes still. Our wounds still cannot fully heal because they are ongoing. Because hostages are still being tortured, executed, and dying in captivity. Because they and their families are still living in the loss and the terror of October 7 right at these very moments. Because tens of thousands of families still cannot return home. In many senses, we are all still living the aftermath of October 7.”

Stressing the lasting impact of the terror attacks on Israeli society, Herzog said, “It is everywhere in our country.”

He added, “It is also in the antisemitism that came charging forward throughout the world in the wake of the war with Hamas.”

The threats posed by Iran

The president also referenced the ongoing threat posed by Iran, which launched a second aerial attack on the Jewish state on Tuesday, and the Iran-backed proxies in the region.

“It is in the ongoing threat to the Jewish state by Iran and its terror proxies, who are blinded by hatred and bent on the destruction of our one and only Jewish nation-state,” Herzog said. “It is in the tangible fear, uncertainty, and anxiety about the future. All of these are here with us still.”

“This time, one year later, is an invitation to come close to the pain and the grief, to look at it with open eyes and open hearts, remembering what we have lost – which reminds us also who we are: We are a people with the power to keep standing up again and again against hatred,” he continued.

“To get back on our feet from the ashes of tragedy. To fight and to survive, to heal and to rebuild. And in truth, this year, of so much heartbreak and devastation, which has plagued Jew, Muslim, Christian, Druze in my nation, and Jews all over the world and other friends, this year has compelled us to return to the core truths of our peoplehood.”

Positives for the future

Despite the difficult year outlined by Herzog, the president expressed optimism for the future, emphasizing that the hardships suffered by the Israeli people have “compelled us to reconnect with one another and to recommit ourselves to the path of self-reflection, collective responsibility, and social justice that are the spiritual legacy of our people.

“And we really have been there for one another this year in beautiful expressions of love and solidarity. We have not abandoned our deep longing and aspiration for peace with our neighbors. And we hold onto this intention still, even as we insist that we as Jews deserve to feel safe and to be safe – regardless of where on earth we may live,” Herzog stated.

“So, my friends, we will emerge from this difficult time, and we will overcome the hatred, and we will rebuild. With a vital spirit that has defined us, we will come together to recover again and again, and we will rebuild,” Herzog assured. “Inspired by the courage of bravery and the beauty of everyone we lost, we will not stop believing that a better world is possible.”