Herzog: Those who fuel bitter Israeli division endanger the state

Those who fuel bitter internal Israeli division endanger the state, President Isaac Herzog said one day after street fighting broke out in Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv over the issue of gender segregation in the Yom Kippur prayer.

“I know that I speak for the absolute majority of Israeli citizens when I express deep sorrow and shock at the sight of our own people fighting one another on a day that has always been a symbol of unity,” Herzog said.

He spoke during a memorial event that marked the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War as he drew a link between the external threats that faced Israel then and the internal ones that it is dealing with now.

“Especially now, we must learn the lessons and truly understand that the internal threat within Israel is the most acute and dangerous threat of all. 

“Only yesterday, in the midst of the holiest day, exactly fifty years after the outbreak of war, we saw in the first Hebrew city of all places. a shocking and painful example of how the internal struggle within us can escalate and become extreme,” Herzog stated.

“How did we get to this terrible situation? That fifty years after that bitter war, sisters and brothers stand on either side of the barricade?” he asked. 

“Those who pour fuel onto this fire are a real threat to Israeli unity. It has to stop here and now. The division, the polarization, the never-ending disputes - they are a real danger to Israeli society and the security of the State of Israel.

“The enemies of Israel express themselves about this repeatedly and refer to the internal crisis within us as the beginning of the end of the State of Israel; and even though they are completely wrong, we must come to our senses, lower our tone, listen, reach out, and by talking and agreeing, end the internal crisis we are in,” Herzog stated.

Netanyahu claims Israeli unity is intact 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who took the podium after Herzog spoke, expressed the exact opposite sentiment, explaining that Israeli unity remained intact.

"Even today, if a battle is imposed on us, what we have in common will overcome what separates us. In moments of testing, we all know that we have one nation, one country, one army, and we know that we have one past, and I have no doubt - we also have one future, a common future for all of us,” Netanyahu said.