President Isaac Herzog on Sunday rebuked a recent antisemitic remark by a senior Turkish official, saying Israel “is here to stay” and calling the Jewish state “a blessing to the world.”
Speaking at the state memorial ceremony for Theodor Herzl at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Herzog referenced comments in which Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in an interview with CNN Türk, described Israeli authorities as “a burden that humanity can no longer bear.”
“A few days ago, I heard a senior official in the Turkish government make a terrible antisemitic remark. In his words, ‘Israel is a burden on the world,’” Herzog said. “My answer to him is simple: Israel is here to stay, and it is a blessing to the world. Israel stands on the front line against the terror threatening the entire world. Our innovations and inventions bring welfare and good to billions around the world.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Friday called Fidan’s remarks “sickening” and incitement to genocide. Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said that he was in “excellent company” with Nazi leaders Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels.
