Mayor Amir Kochavi of Hod Hasharon delivered remarks at the municipality’s Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony on Wednesday night, implying Israel has been committing atrocities itself in the Gaza Strip.
In his speech, Kochavi said that “atrocities are being committed, even if they are in our name,” and later said that though 59 hostages remain, actions seeking revenge and leading to bloodshed would not bring back the dead.
Kochavi read a speech by a Holocaust survivor as part of his remarks, afterwards noting Israel’s current political distress. “Israel in 2025 is a country at war — an external war against bitter enemies who seek to destroy us, and an internal war between currents and sub-currents fighting over the Israeli story,” he said.
“A war to return home 59 abductees who have been in the Holocaust personally and as families for far too long, so that we can fulfill our basic moral duty to each other and so that we can begin to heal as a society from October 7, 2023.”
He cited Auschwitz survivor Yehuda Elkana’s “The Right to Forget,” where he discussed the different types of individuals who came out of the death camps. The article said that there were those who said “never again,” while there were others who said “never again — for us.”
Jewish morality vs. Israeli morality
Kochavi’s use of this quote also asserted that there was a difference between Jewish and Israeli morality. “Israeli morality dictates that we must ensure a protected, stable, solid home for the generations that survived and for the people and state that was established thanks to them,” he quoted. “Jewish morality dictates never again, not only for us, but for all peoples as a moral and ethical imperative of a just and healthy society."
He said, "59 brothers and sisters are still kidnapped in Gaza. The 'never again' still continues, and the lust for revenge, blood, and destruction has not brought back to us the dead, nor the living. As descendants of Holocaust survivors who, together with other pioneers, established the Jewish state, we must ensure that the memory of the Holocaust, the processes that led to it, the legal and ethical justifications given to it, and the silence that accompanied it, all serve as a warning sign to the entire world. For us too, so that we may remember and be careful."
He called for rebuilding Israel as a model society for future generations, as a country that will always welcome both Jews and non-Jews alike.
Kochavi was aware of the backlash he quickly received in response to his statement, turning to X to respond to comments.
“My opinion on Amit Segal, the noise created by his kindness and the ugly spins that are being made on my words: that they are intended to make people forget that there are 59 kidnapped men and women who have been held captive by Hamas for 565 days by the prime minister on whose watch they were kidnapped,” he wrote on X.
“They must be returned now, in one fell swoop. The dead for burial and the living for restoration. Anything else is a distraction,” he added.
Israeli politicians from both sides of the political aisle shared their criticism of Kochavi’s remarks, with few encouraging.
“Amir Kochavi: Inhale. Whoever attacks you today will join you in a few years,” MK Ahmed Tibi, leader of Hadash Ta’al wrote on X in response.
אמיר כוכבי: שאפו. מי שתוקף אותך היום ,יצטרף אליך בעוד כמה שנים. https://t.co/dSjv4gzhKJ
— Ahmad Tibi (@Ahmad_tibi) April 24, 2025
Culture Minister Miki Zohar did not echo Tibi’s sentiments. “The embarrassing words of the mayor of Hod Hasharon are a spit in the face of Holocaust survivors — those who immigrated to the Land of Israel, established a state, and survived the terrible massacre committed by ‘other peoples,’” He wrote on X. “I have no doubt that the vast majority of Hod Hasharon residents repudiate these outrageous statements.”
דבריו המביכים של ראש עיריית הוד השרון הם יריקה בפרצופם של שורדי השואה — אלה שעלו לארץ ישראל, הקימו מדינה ושרדו את הטבח הנורא שביצעו ‘עמים אחרים’. אין לי ספק כי רובם המוחלט של תושבי הוד השרון מתנערים מהאמירות המקוממות הללו.
— Miki Zohar מיקי זוהר (@zoharm7) April 24, 2025
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman called on Yair Lapid to condemn his party member’s comments. “On Holocaust and heroism day, while 59 hostages languish in the inferno of Gaza, the mayor of Hod Hasharon, Amir Kochavi, incites against the IDF and actually sides with the terrorists,” he wrote on X.
ביום השואה והגבורה, בעוד ש-59 חטופים נמקים בתופת הגיהנום של עזה, ראש עריית הוד השרון, אמיר כוכבי, מסית נגד צה״ל ונעמד דווקא לצד המחבלים.אני מצפה מיאיר לפיד, שכוכבי מזוהה עם מפלגתו, לגנות את דבריו מיד.
— אביגדור ליברמן (@AvigdorLiberman) April 24, 2025
Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen wrote on X: “It's a shame that an Israeli mayor chooses Holocaust Remembrance Day to identify with our enemies and tarnish the name of our heroic soldiers.” He added, “the same hatred of Jews that led to the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis and their aides still flows in the blood of our enemies, against whom IDF soldiers are fighting right now.”
בושה שראש עיר בישראל בוחר דווקא ביום השואה להזדהות עם אויבינו, ולפגוע בשמם של חיילינו הגיבורים.אותה שנאת יהודים שהובילה לרצח ששה מיליון יהודים על ידי הנאצים ועוזריהם, עדיין זורמת בדמם של אויבינו, מולם חיילי צה״ל נלחמים בשעה זאת ממש.
— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) April 24, 2025
Yair Golan accused Israel’s right-wing of weakness based on how they responded to Kochavi. “The right-wing attack on the mayor of Hod Hasharon, Amir Kochavi, is not evidence of his weakness – but rather evidence of the weakness of his attackers,” his X post said. “The State of Israel is a strong state, and the IDF is a strong army, and we can and must allow ourselves to reveal a moral backbone even in times of war.”
ההתקפה של הימין על ראש עיריית הוד השרון, אמיר כוכבי, אינה עדות לחולשתו – אלא עדות לחולשה של תוקפיו. מדינת ישראל היא מדינה חזקה, וצה״ל הוא צבא חזק ואנחנו יכולים ואף חייבים להרשות לעצמו לגלות עמוד שדרה ערכי גם בעיתות מלחמה. מי שמזהה כל התבטאות מוסרית כ״הסתה״ – הוא חלש והוא מערער…
— Yair Golan – יאיר גולן (@YairGolan1) April 24, 2025
He added: “Anyone who identifies any moral expression as ‘incitement’ is weak and undermines the IDF and Israel's security as a strong democracy."
