The Sovereignty Movement expresses profound pain and sorrow on the passing of the fighter for the people of Israel and the land of Israel, Cherna Moskowitz.
We are not saying good-bye, as we will all encounter her and her legacy in the myriad initiatives that she helped establish throughout the Land of Israel. All her actions were intended for tomorrow, for the future and for the generations to come.
The crowning glory of Cherna’s life was Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people and the heart of its redemption, as a continuation of the work of her late husband Irving z"l.
In innumerable projects throughout the length and breadth of the capital of Israel, she planted sparks of redemption that will continue to shine brightly.
In the eyes of the Moskowitz couple, forerunners in the practical realization of the redemption of Israel, the honor of the Jewish people was dear to them, and with it the honor of Jerusalem and the honor of the entire Land of Israel.
With their clear vision and rare and incredible tenacity, they were privileged to raise splendor from ashes. “Let us never forget for a moment that our generation was chosen to realize the return to Zion. After having sacrificed two millennia for the dream of the return to Jerusalem, we must not let it slip through our fingers,” Irving said, and many followed the path of realization and action with them.
The awe-inspiring acts of kindness to which the Moskovitz couple devoted themselves with all their might and wisdom were exemplary and legendary even during their lifetime, and now, after their passing, will remain in our hearts as a bequest and a compass by whose light we will continue to proceed.
Cherna taught us to always choose the truth and to express it with courage and conviction. We recall her unequivocal and forthright words against the establishment of a Palestinian state and in favor of the application of Israeli sovereignty in a letter she sent in 2020 to the CEO of the Yesha Council with the backdrop of the Deal of the Century: “I support President Trump and his blessed achievements, both within the United States and abroad, and in strengthening the relationship with Israel in a historic and unprecedented manner.
At the same time, I will never agree to or support any framework that proposes a two-state solution as part of the final agreement with the Arab population in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, the Galilee and Gaza, no matter the “packaging” in which that framework may come. I say yes to sovereignty and no to a Palestinian state!"
Among her many undertakings, Cherna initiated the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism, and at the award ceremony in its ninth year she said: “It is no coincidence that the initiative to award the prize began after the evacuation of the Jewish communities from Gush Katif, an activity that was the antithesis of Zionism. After a trauma of that kind, it is important to acknowledge and honor those who are engaged in Zionism today, after their ancestors labored to build a country here. This generation must break the familiar mold, we do not want sympathy, we want to take action. We have a message: Israel is not just another country. We are Jews, Zionists, and that is worth celebrating.”
In this stalwart and steadfast spirit, Cherna was a great boon to a long series of enterprises and organizations dedicated to the full and exclusive right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. In this regard, we were privileged to have her see in our movement, the Sovereignty Movement, a faithful emissary to the realization of the dream of the generations, her dream, the sovereignty of Israel over the entire Land. In these painful moments, we will remember to thank her, from the depth of our hearts, for her help and cooperation and to pledge to continue along the same path that leads to redemption of the people and the Land.
Beyond her being a courageous leader, a woman of action, a trailblazer and a pathfinder, Cherna z"l was a close friend and a sympathetic ear. Great pain fills the heart with her passing from us, and with the pain we are filled with a profound sense of commitment to continue her Zionist path, to deepen the love of the land and the Jewish hold on it, and through all this to realize the vision of sovereignty in it.
In the building of the Land of Israel and in sovereignty over it we will be comforted.
Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar in the name of the Sovereignty Movement.