President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog departed on Sunday morning for a state visit to the Federal Republic of Germany, at the invitation of President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
In Germany, the President and the First Lady will participate in the 50th anniversary memorial for the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, together with the victims’ families.
During the visit, between September 4 and 6, President Herzog will meet with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and other senior officials.
The President will deliver an address before the German Bundestag, will participate in the official 50th anniversary memorial for the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, and will visit the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp accompanied by the President of Germany.
President Isaac Herzog said prior to his departure, “I am leaving this morning on a state visit to Germany, at the invitation of the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Every visit to Germany carries with it tremendous personal weight. We shall discuss the past and the future. I shall visit the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, which my father liberated together with other British Army soldiers on 15 April 1945.”
“The main part of the visit will be the memorial marking the 50-year anniversary of the terrible massacre of the eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. I shall participate in the memorial there together with the families of the murdered athletes, Germany’s top leadership, and officials from the Olympic Committee of Israel. I shall represent the People of Israel and the State of Israel. I shall also appear before the German Bundestag and reveal my diplomatic thoughts on the major issues on the agenda, including the Iranian nuclear program,” he added.