Israeli President Isaac Herzog issued a video message on Tuesday in support of Ukraine on the 1000th day of its war, saying that Jerusalem identifies with its cause and what it has endured at the hands of Russia.
“We also pause to reflect on the enormous human suffering that this war has brought. As a country that knows the pain and loss of war, we in Israel wish to say to our friends in Ukraine, you are not alone,” Herzog said in the English-language clip.
“We feel your pain. We feel your suffering, and we continue to grieve with you in your enormous losses. So many have lost their lives, their livelihoods, their homes, their loved ones, their basic sense of security for them and their children. And this is deeply, deeply painful,” he said.
Herzog said Israel was grateful to be among the countries that have provided resources and humanitarian, medical and psychological support to Ukraine, reflecting the “goodwill and empathy of the Israeli people.”
Israel supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine, he added, expressing his hope that “diplomacy and goodwill” would bring about an end to the suffering and a resolution for peace in Ukraine.
Herzog’s comments come nearly three weeks after a Russian drone struck Or Avner Chabad’s “Perlina” school in Kyiv, the main Jewish school in Ukraine’s capital, on Oct. 30, resulting in “significant structural damage.”
No student injuries were reported, as the drone struck hours before children arrived. However, several injuries were reported from a neighboring building.
Herzog’s first state visit as president was to Ukraine in October 2021. He participated in an official international ceremony marking the anniversary of the Babi Yar Massacre.
He thanked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government for passing a law against antisemitism, and adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of the phenomenon.
“Ukraine also boycotted the Durban Conference, and I am grateful to it for this,” Herzog said.
