Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday night hosted a reception at his official residence in Jerusalem for military leaders from 18 nations.
The attendees are in Israel to participate in an Israel Defense Forces conference on military innovation, according to a statement from Herzog’s office.
They include General Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff; General Michael Kurilla, commander of United States Central Command; the chiefs-of-staff of the militaries of Morocco, Greece, Cyprus, Poland and Czechia; and high-ranking generals from NATO, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and other nations.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi and Israel Defense Forces General Staff officers also attended the Wednesday night reception.
“There is a famous saying: ‘He who seeks peace must prepare for war,’” Herzog told the invitees. “In order to prepare for war, and therefore in order to seek peace and achieve it, we need the best armies possible. We really pray and hope there will be peace, and that is why we are so happy that we have neighbors from our region and Arab countries here.”
