TEL AVIV — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned a somber state memorial for Iran attack victims into a clarion call for vengeance and unity on Tuesday. With President Isaac Herzog and grieving families present, he vowed relentless pursuit of justice, declaring the fight far from finished.
Addressing the crowd, Netanyahu empathized deeply: ‘Your immense pain belongs to us all—the agony of loss, injury, and trauma binds us.’ He invoked biblical wisdom, stressing communal strength: we mourn together, support each other, and battle foes as one.
He spotlighted the Jerusalem shooting that claimed a mother’s life, leaving her daughter orphaned, to illustrate the enemy’s genocidal intent versus Israel’s moral clarity. Decades of hatred, fueled by inflammatory clerics and toxic curricula, have poisoned minds across generations, he charged.
Historical parallels were stark: the 1936 pogroms tested Jewish endurance, but they prevailed. The October 7 Simchat Torah bloodbath in the Western Negev epitomized neighborly savagery. Netanyahu’s UN address exposed these via digital testimony, viewed by millions, paving the way for hostage rescues through military pressure and American aid.
‘We’ve had successes tracking killers with IDF and ISA elite units,’ he noted, but insisted retribution continues. At Beit Shemesh post-Iran strikes, fluttering flags amid debris embodied Israel’s indomitable spirit.
Netanyahu’s rhetoric blended mourning with militancy, promising collective reckoning. As Iran-backed assaults persist, his message fortifies national resolve, signaling no quarter for those who strike first.
