President Isaac Herzog visited the city of Kiryat Shmona and the Galilee area in northern Israel, amidst the ongoing campaign against the Hezbollah terror organization in Lebanon. The President received a broad overview of the complex challenges facing residents of the North and heard from local officials about emergency response efforts for residents.
During the visit, the Head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council, Asaf Langelben, presented President Herzog with a crate of avocados from the Misgav Am orchard, grown by Ofer “Pushko" Moscovitz, of blessed memory, who was killed yesterday in the North.
President Herzog eulogized Pushko, saying: “Pushko was a respected and beloved figure throughout the Galilee-a true man of the Galilee who was on the front line building and cultivating life even in the face of constant threat. His work will continue to bear fruit for many years to come, despite the tragic and painful circumstances in which we parted from him.
“I wish to send my deepest condolences to Kibbutz Misgav Am, which has been guarding our borders for decades, and to his dear family. We hope this campaign will end and that Pushko’s dream of quiet on the border will yet be fulfilled."
In Kiryat Shmona, with Mayor Avichai Stern, President Herzog said: “It is clear that the entire people of Israel are one united front, and the entire State of Israel stands in this campaign-this is a just campaign, and it is integrated with action against the head of the snake in Tehran, against its proxies in Lebanon, and amid dramatic changes we are seeing in Lebanon with regard to Hezbollah."
“We cannot return to the reality that existed before the last ceasefire. We must ensure strategic depth inside Lebanon, create a clear and meaningful forward defense area, and bring about a strategic shift as part of a diplomatic process with Lebanon. We want to see Kiryat Shmona developing, flourishing, and growing as it deserves to."