(January 26, 2023 / JNS) Israeli President Isaac Herzog addresses the European Parliament on Thursday to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which takes place annually on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Herzog will deliver the main speech in a special session attended by parliamentarians and Shore survivors.
Herzog arrived in Brussels on Wednesday morning and met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and King Philippe.
At the meeting, the two presidents discussed the relationship between Israel and the EU, which is expressed in broad and comprehensive cooperation in trade, agriculture, tourism, aviation, research and development, culture, and ways to deepen cooperation in additional areas such as energy and food. We talked. security, climate, etc.
“The European Union is a very important factor in our lives, in many ways Israel’s potential strategic partner, and in so many ways we are Europe’s true potential strategic partner. partner,” said Herzog. “We have common challenges and much to share to do good for the world. There are many problems we can work together to solve and help humanity as a whole,” he said. .
Herzog also said of the Iranian threat: Iran is fighting Ukrainian civilians by supplying drones and deadly weapons, endangering the world by rushing to develop nuclear weapons, and killing and torturing its own citizens. Not only in Israel, the region and the Middle East, but also in Europe and the world. ”
After the conference, Herzog visited the Athens Ganenow Jewish School and the Great Synagogue of Europe and spoke with members of the Jewish community.
“Here we are gathered in this unique and magnificent structure, in this Great Synagogue of Europe. It is not just a building. It is a symbol of our inalienable right to live inside,” the Israeli president said.
“I can only imagine that Allied forces marched on Brussels, liberated the city, and Jewish soldiers like my father invaded this building, just as the Maccabees cleared the desecrated temples. Judea One should be free to be an equal citizen at will and be able to live wherever he pleases: Brussels, Paris, New York, Jerusalem, etc. But there is, of course, a special distinction between a Jew and the Jewish state. There is an unbreakable bond,” he added.
Later on Thursday, Herzog is scheduled to meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and allied representatives to brief Israel’s strategic situation.
