Between the division over the judiciary reforms and the deep, overall schism in Israeli society, which has been knee-deep in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip for a year-and-a-half, President Isaac Herzog issued a cry for unity: “We should rise above!”
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post for Independence Day, the president addressed the divisiveness, extremism, and seclusion in echo chambers by so many in Israeli society.
He also gave a warm hug to our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora and discussed the broader security issues Israel is facing, from balancing returning the hostages held by Hamas with defeating the terrorist organization in neighboring states, and all the way to Iran.
Herzog called for calm and for a sense of proportionality, urging that everyone remember that most people agree on most things, and we are in the business of building and maintaining the State of Israel together.
“I am so deeply proud of the amazing achievements of Israel and [its] people,” said Herzog.
“Israelis worldwide are leaders in their fields, while at home, we see the most amazing social, academic, and cultural initiatives every week and every day,” he added.
The fight surrounding the judiciary and its powers began decades prior, but it really exploded when Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced his judicial reform plans in 2022.
This sparked massive backlash from the public, as well as from the judiciary itself. Since then, Israel’s skies darkened under the war, and the legislation that has passed and will only come into effect in the next Knesset is a more toned-down version of its original, Herzog said.
“The real issue is divisiveness regarding the judiciary and the boundaries between it and other branches of government. This is something that has been tearing us apart for at least a generation, but it came to fruition in the public storm that we endured in 2023,” before the Israel-Hamas War, “and which is now recurring,” he said.
“I am doing my best – even if I stand alone; I will try endlessly to bring [forth] compromise and understanding because I believe the gaps are not as big as they seem,” he added.
One of the more recent fights that touched on the issue of the judiciary was the contentious firing of Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar. The government decided to dismiss him in March, citing a “lack of trust” between the chief and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and argued that Bar should have stepped down on his own after the agency’s probe into October 7 went public.
Petitioners against the move said that it was political as it was prompted by the agency’s potentially-damning investigations into alleged Qatari ties linked to figures close to the prime minister himself.
“There is no denying that Bar was involved in the serious failures in the hours leading up to October 7 – failures he himself acknowledged. Grave errors were made, which I do not minimize for a second,” Herzog said, adding that this was why Bar announced his resignation.
“However,” he said, “we must remember that there was a systemic collapse at every level and that this must be thoroughly investigated by a state commission of inquiry,” which would include Netanyahu.
Bar announced on Monday that he would resign on June 15.
“I see terrible personal attacks and accusations against him – all kinds of awful statements directed at someone who has served the people of Israel with extraordinary bravery and dedication for decades,” Herzog continued.
Bar “did the right thing by taking responsibility… His decision reflects integrity, which is critical in terms of leadership and values, be it for the Shit Bet or for the Israeli public and the bereaved families,” he added.
How can we investigate the failures of October 7?
Another issue mentioned was the question of how to investigate the failures of October 7 – should a state commission of inquiry be established, or should some other composition of experts be used instead?
There are so many people, especially bereaved families, who only want “clear information on the killing of their loved ones,” Herzog said.
According to Herzog, this “unbelievable tragedy… must be investigated in-depth.”
That is why, he continued, he proposed his compromise last month about how to appoint an investigative committee.
Herzog proposed that both the moderate activist Chief Justice Isaac Amit and staunchly conservative Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg be charged with forming it – in a nod to those who were skeptical of Amit – in an effort to grant broad legitimacy to the committee, and by doing so, to its findings.
“There are many ways to deal with this if we only have goodwill. In the end, a committee will be appointed, because there is no other choice,” Herzog said.
Notably, Jews in Israel were not the only ones experiencing war – Diaspora Jews have been facing a different, yet no less challenging fight for their safety and identity since October 2023.
“One of my top agenda items [is] working tirelessly to connect, unite, and create a common denominator” between Israeli and Diaspora Jews, the president said.
Throughout the year, “I had a train of delegations [arrive] from all possible aspects of Jewish life, and from people who are detrimentally challenged by antisemitism on campuses or elsewhere,” he added. “I have a huge passion for the issue of our Jewish world.”
Passion behind Voice of the People initiative
This passion birthed Herzog’s Voice of the People initiative, “a council I created that convened for the first time early in March to discuss the future leadership of the Jewish world… The diversity and uniqueness of these meetings and people were fantastic; [they] exposed the evolution of the Jewish world in this era.”
He continued, “As the president of the only nation-state of the Jewish people in the world, I say: We deeply care about what is going on in the Diaspora.”
Regarding the discord in Israeli society, Herzog said that it was so deep because “all of these issues have all become very personal.”
“This is my plea, my outcry, to the nation: Simmer down. Everyone believes that their own echo chamber is the only one that’s correct, that everyone else is wrong,” he said.
Herzog’s first target audience with this call were politicians. “The political leadership should be aware of its historic responsibility. Israelis will go to elections” at the very latest next year – or sooner, if the Knesset calls it, he said.
“We have to remember that there are greater things above us. We should not be fiddling with the most delicate mechanisms of our democracy,” he said.
“The majority of Israelis believe in certain rules. They believe in civil rights and the need to protect them; they believe that one needs to adhere to the law and the courts; and they detest any talk of civil war,” he said.
Unfortunately, he added, fringe groups made a lot of noise.
The divisiveness is much deeper than the disagreements it finds expression in, and must be combated in every forum possible, Herzog said.
The president launched a dialogue program called “Time to Talk” at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem and in his auspices across the country to do exactly this.
“When they meet, they first scream and yell, and by the end, they are hugging each other and crying and becoming best friends,” he said, noting that nowhere was this truer than on the battlefield.
Integrating haredim into the IDF
Addressing the conflict over integrating more haredim (ultra-Orthodox) into the IDF, Herzog said that the problem was as old as the Jewish state itself.
Still, a realization had recently dawned on much of the nation that enlisting haredim “must be done by way of dialogue,” as the burden of serving in the IDF had become onerous by the demand that more and more brothers and sisters serve, he said.
The integration of haredim should occur “by the army creating special structures and units for ultra-Orthodox service so that the haredim will not fear that their lifestyles and beliefs will be affected,” Herzog continued.
“I believe it is of the utmost importance to serve our nation and our defense forces. During the war, I visited haredi families whose sons were killed in battle. But you want to see more haredim serving… I urge them to join,” the president said.
When pressed about the issue of dialogue with the haredim, as this approach has yet to be successful in terms of encouraging this community to serve in the army in sufficient numbers, Herzog responded, “I was a member of the committee that led to the Tal Law being passed in 2000. This was a revolutionary law regarding the potential process to mobilize haredim.”
But, he said, “the army and the Defense Ministry did not give real attention to implementing the law, and the High Court of Justice wrongly abolished this law 5-4 – this was a big mistake. That law had potential for having a substantial effect…We should focus more on potent mechanisms,” for special haredi service options.
Moreover, Herzog said, “There are deliberations in the Knesset that may bring a new law into effect. But what was will not be any longer. There must be much more sharing of the burden and privilege of [army] service.”
“We should have a certain proportionality,” he added. “What we are seeing right now is disturbing.”
Bereaved families, hostages, and defeating Hamas in Gaza
Herzog and his wife, Michal, met over 1,100 bereaved families this year. He said a consistent theme he found was that “people wanted to know that their nation was being steered in calmer circumstances.”
According to the president, “That is why I breathe, think, and talk unity; it’s a must.”
Next, Herzog said that the country must figure out a way to bridge the divide between those who wanted to return the Israeli hostages held by Hamas first and only after, at some later date, finish off Hamas, and those who wanted to finish off Hamas first and then return the hostages.
Asked about the internal battle between these groups, Herzog replied, “I believe that if we know that they [the hostages] are alive, that they are not far away, and that they can come out,” that Israel must do all it can to get them back.
“On the other hand, I respect… the other opinion that we must get rid of Hamas to change the future for our citizens on the border and for the State of Israel,” he said.
“There is a gap between these two objectives,” Herzog continued. “There is still a lot to be done. I urge all the concerned parties to go the extra mile, to make another effort, to be innovative. We are in the midst of very delicate moments regarding the negotiations backstage. I hope that this will lead to bringing all the hostages home.”
Addressing his deep closeness with returned hostages, Herzog noted his recent trip with some of them to Auschwitz.
The president said the returned hostages and their families have “become almost like family members. In Auschwitz, during the March of the Living, I marched with [released] hostages Eli Sharabi, Agam Berger, Keith Siegel, and others.”
“I went to the room to prepare for the march with Sharabi. We had a heart-to-heart conversation. I said to him: ‘Looking out the window and seeing the crematoriums, do you believe that we are here? Do you believe that you are here after you were in the heart of darkness? Now you’re here with me marching,’” stated the president.
Herzog added that Sharabi said, “There is nothing to compare between my situation to the Holocaust.”
“But Sharabi did say that he went through hell.”
The Iranian nuclear threat
Moving on to the Iran nuclear issue, Herzog said that the Islamic Republic had a lot to hide, given that it had expelled many IAEA nuclear inspectors and that any nuclear deal that the Trump administration negotiates, among other things, must ensure that Iran’s ballistic missile program does not enable the nuclear program.
Questioned about the risk that US President Donald Trump might cut a nuclear deal that Israel will view as too weak, Herzog responded, “I think if President Trump opted to try first to negotiate as an alternative, we have to respect that and to try to bring the best deal possible that will reach this objective.”
“I know this has to be done with a clear set of objectives that prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, since we don’t trust Iran. A deal must be very strict and have clear supervision,” the president said.
Further, he stated, “Iran is the one who blocked supervisors from the IAEA. It blocked them a few years back. I hope and I assume that the American negotiators along with the Iranian ones are putting this as a very important priority in the negotiations.”
He stressed again that Iran’s ballistic missile program must not enable the nuclear program.
Changes in Syria and Lebanon
Discussing Syria and Lebanon, the president said that there is now a “historic change both in Syria and Lebanon, and this gives rise to a certain optimism.”
“But we still need to be extremely cautious. History teaches us not to sleep on our laurels,” Herzog said.
“We are following what is going on very closely,” he continued. “We cannot allow a recurrence of Hezbollah becoming active on our borders or elsewhere.”
He added that the new seemingly more moderate leaders in both Syria and Lebanon would need to be judged by “actions – not just by words.”
“The divisiveness and hate that we are seeing is extremely disturbing and dangerous,” Herzog said.
“Our enemies out there who are constantly seeking to destroy us don’t really care if the person they killed supported or opposed the judicial reform,” Herzog said.
