“Elections are not a civil war,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a national address on Tuesday whose theme was the coming national elections and the need to remain united as one people despite the differences of opinion.
National elections are scheduled for Oct. 27.
“Elections are the test of Israeli democracy. This is an opportunity for each and every one of us to influence the future of the country and the fateful issues that are on the agenda. I call on all citizens of Israel to take an active part in the elections, to listen, to be heard, to be respected and to vote,” he said.
But he also warned it was a time to be careful, revealing he had hosted in his office two weeks ago, Supreme Court, Justice Noam Sohlberg, who serves as chairman of the Central Elections Committee, and the head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), David Zini, who presented him with various threats to the elections both at home and abroad.
Calling on all law enforcement authorities to stand firmly against these threats, Herzog cautioned that “in the age of social networks, the dangers are great.
“We must all be wise, careful, and responsible in the content we consume, and even more so in the content we distribute,” he said.
Noting that the country finds itself in a period of ferment, with the the danger of violence rearing up, Herzog called on elected officials, activists and candidates: “Don’t cross red lines. Don’t turn adversaries into enemies. I remind all leaders of the saying of the sages: be careful with your words. I call on all the people of Israel in a clear voice, remember, elections are not civil wars.”
Criticism and public debate are a natural part of democracy, Herzog said, but he stressed that Israel’s shared future and collective responsibility to safeguard the country for future generations must take precedence over political divisions. Governments come and go, but the responsibility to the country must endure. The people remain, he said.
“We must not wait for disasters to remind us that we live here together as one people,” he said.
“My sisters and brothers, on the eve of the ninth of Av, [date of the destruction of both the Fiirst and Second Temples], I pray that we will all merit to see the consolation of Zion and Jerusalem. And for this purpose, let us remember and recall the historical lesson. Baseless hatred had destroyed our home,” the president concluded.
