President of Israel Isaac Herzog spoke on Sunday tonight at the "Book Week" event and commented on the verbal attack by a teacher against the bereaved mother Iris Haim.
"In the last few weeks, I have been appalled again and again by words of the worst kind, saturated with hatred, saturated with violence - that are thrown into the air in our public space, without responsibility, and without thought. Today I heard such shocking words again - that were said as part of a vile attack on Iris Haim, the mother of Yotam Haim, of blessed memory; words that I will not repeat here," Herzog began.
He added that "the very fact that I even have to talk about this, when we are in the middle of a war; on a day when beloved families, whose worlds have been shattered, are burying their loved ones in military cemeteries, causes me deep shame. But when the bereaved families ask me again and again, I feel obliged to call out their cries and pleas - that their sacrifice was not in vain. When the public discourse becomes so violent, when people accuse each other of betrayal when groups incite and accuse each other of trying to disintegrate and destroy the country, it is clear to all of us that something terrible is happening here, but I am afraid that it really won't end there."
The president noted that "we are in such a sensitive, painful, and tense time, and we must not forget that our bitter and cruel enemies celebrate every time they hear and see such violence and blind hatred between us, whether in the streets, in the studios, in the committee rooms and debates and on social media. It is forbidden, simply forbidden, that statements of the most violent kind, and especially explicit or implicit accusations of betrayal, against families of hostages and bereaved families, against the Chief of Staff and commanders of the IDF and security agencies, against members of the media, against the judiciary and judges, against members of the Knesset and ministers, against the current prime minister, will become commonplace, to the extent that they become indifferent to them and do not strongly object to this kind of speech."
"To be clear - I have no intention of making a false comparison or symmetry. Not all attacks are equal in severity, and criticism. Protest and demonstration are a democratic right - both against the government and in favor of it. But we must put a limit to the verbal violence and hatred that bring us toward the edge of the abyss, again and again. As I have said time and time again during the previous government – verbal violence is violence for all concerned, and accusations of treason can lead to murder. Haven't we learned anything from our history?", he concluded.