Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday visited Eli in Samaria, where he honored an Israel Defense Forces reservist who killed a terrorist who murdered two civilians at the town’s gas station on Feb. 29.
Aviad Gizbar, who owns a hummus restaurant at the petrol station and was on leave from the military at the time, shot and killed the terrorist from his restaurant, preventing further bloodshed.
Herzog presented Gizbar with a certificate of appreciation during a visit to Eli’s prestigious Bnei David pre-military academy, where he also met with hundreds of students, staff and bereaved families.
“We can’t—by no means—return to the days before the Black Sabbath [of Oct. 7],” the president told attendees, per the Israeli news outlet Kipa. “We can’t return to words that lash out, of hate and division. If there’s anything we can swear on the memory of the fallen, it is that their deaths were not in vain.”
Herzog expressed his appreciation on behalf of the entire nation of Israel to the soldiers “who, for over five months, have been guarding our land and the cities of our God, and are all dedicated to victory.”
גבורת חללינו שעמדו על משמר ארצנו ונפלו על הגנת העם והמדינה קשורה בחוט הנמשך ממגש הכסף של ימי הקמת המדינה.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) March 18, 2024
הגעתי היום לביקור מרגש של תנחומים וחיזוק במכינת ״בני דוד״ בעלי שאיבדה 18 מבוגריה מתחילת המלחמה. קיימתי שיחה מעמיקה עם תלמידי המכינה ורבניה על החברים שנפלו, על כלל-ישראל ועל… pic.twitter.com/bgZxdKOkfG
In a post on X, Herzog reflected on “an emotional visit of condolences and encouragement to the Bnei David preparatory school in Eli, which lost 18 of its graduates since the beginning of the war.
“I had an in-depth conversation with the students of the preparatory program and the rabbis about their fallen comrades,” the president wrote.
As part of the ceremony at Bnei David, its founder, Rabbi Eli Sadan, presented Herzog with a Passover Haggadah, while Eli community Rabbi Avraham Schiller blessed the president with a special prayer.
Israel Ganz, who heads the Binyamin Regional Council, which has jurisdiction over large parts of southern Samaria including Eli, thanked Herzog for his work to promote unity among the Israeli people.
“We are all united on the way to victory, which must be total. In Binyamin, we have merited to have a community with a breathing heart, values and dedication to Israel. We are all proud that we are continuing the path of the fallen and will carry on deepening our roots,” said Ganz.
