“In every place where the State of Israel and the Israeli people needed defending, I had the privilege of seeing you. When it was said that Israeli society had lost its direction, like a soldier on a navigation exercise, you were the compass for the values of Israeli hope. Strong, united, determined to put your shoulders to the task. Ready, too, to pay the price if required.”

“Soldiers and commanders of the IDF, on land, air and sea - dear, beloved, wonderful. How much I love you! With your permission, Chief of Staff, I am ready to sign up for the reserves again right now.”

The Israel Defense Forces and the Ministry of Defense took leave of President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin today, Tuesday 6 July / 26 Tammuz, at the IDF General Staff headquarters, the Kirya, in Tel Aviv. The president was received by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, took part in a special farewell event arranged for him in the presence of the IDF general staff forum and present and past recipients of the Presidential Award for Outstanding Service. At the end of the event, the traditional picture of the president, chief of staff and the general staff was taken.

At the beginning of his remarks, the president expressed his condolences to the Asman family on the death of Col. Sharon Asman ז"ל, commander of the Nahal Brigade. “Sharon was a hero of the brigade, a man of action, who loved life and people. His passing is a great loss to his family, his wife Sharon and their two daughters, to the IDF and for all of us citizens of the State of Israel.”

“Soldiers and commanders of the IDF, on land, air and sea - dear, beloved, wonderful. How much I love you! It is a little awkward to announce it here, but you have a president who is in love. In love with our country. In love with the IDF. In love with you. Soldiers and commanders, men and women of the Israel Defense Forces, you are the best. You are my superheroes. Over the last seven years I have met you in the field, at roadblocks and on the borders, in positions and behind computer screens. At training bases and in your units, in submarines, on board ships, in planes, in tanks, with artillery pieces and Iron Dome batteries. At the Bakum induction, the Havat Hashomer education base and at Officers’ Training School. As infantry soldiers and cyber soldiers. I welcomed and hosted lone solders and of course the 120 outstanding soldiers. The volunteers. Those in regular service and those in the reserves. The best face of Israel, in all its diversity. Israel that is the most beautiful!”

“In every place where the State of Israel and the Israeli people needed defending, I had the privilege of seeing you – and what a huge privilege that was! In tough times, when storms raged, when it was said that Israeli society had lost its direction, when we had lost our way, when we most needed belief, hope, we found it in you. Like a soldier on a navigation exercise, you were the compass for the values of Israeli hope. Strong, united, determined to put your shoulders to the task. Ready, too, to pay the price if required. Meeting you, I was reassured that nothing is impossible. That was nothing that we could not beat, together, thanks to you,” he continued.

“At this moment of parting, I cannot but think of the bereaved families. Of those injured in body and soul and of those missing who have not yet come home for burial in Israel. All of them, all of them, are in my heart,” said the president. “They say we have no other country. That’s true. But I tell you that we also have no other army and that we have no other IDF. An army of values and of morals. An army that is ours, all of ours. A people’s army that returns to the people. That is the unique character of the IDF. That is its beauty. That is its strength and our strength, in diversity and inclusion, in the ability to be together, side-by-side. Sometimes we jostle each other, sometimes we lean on each other. Members f all the tribes, religions, ethnicities and sectors. Left and right. Right and left. And because of that we have to, all of us, make sure to take care.”

At the end of his remarks, the president thanked Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi and his predecessors who were with him at the beginning of his presidency – Lt.-Gen. (res.) Gadi Eisenkot and Minister of Defense Lt.-Gen. (res.) Benny Gantz, the members of the IDF General Staff and his military secretaries Brig.-Gen. Hasson Hasson, Brig.-Gen. Boaz Hershkovitz and Brig.-Gen. Alaa Abu-Rukun. He concluded his remarks with a line from the poem of the commander of the Lehi, Avraham ‘Yair’ Stern, ‘Unknown Solders’: ‘We are unknown soldiers, uniforms we have none, only death from our duty can us sever.’ He said, “Since the State of Israel was established, we are no longer unknown soldiers, but we still are not released from duty, never part. With your permission, Chief of Staff, I am ready to sign up for the reserves again right now! Thank you. Bless you.”

Minister of Defense Benny Gantz: “Mr. President, you took office during Operation Defensive Shield and your concern was immediately apparent - for the security establishment, and particular the bereaved families, the injured and every soldier who needed assistance and an open ear. Sometimes, it felt as if you knew every fallen soldier and every casualty, every lone soldier and every reservist. We found in you a full and key partner in maintaining our security in the international arena. You were there whenever required to support, to go on missions, to convey messages. You took upon yourself, too, the job of maintaining relations with our friends, near and far, at a complex time. You contributed greatly to our national resilience, an integral part of our security. You sought what unites and connects us at every opportunity. Time after time, you looked for the path to unity from the understanding that our domestic conflicts damage Israeli society. I thank you for that on behalf of the security establishment, the IDF and on behalf of the people and personally, as Benny the citizen, for having an open ear to every soldier, for taking care of the IDF’s soldiers and their families, for preserving our national security and, most importantly for keeping us as a united and democratic society, even in tough times.”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi: “Your Excellency President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin, our president. You come from a special generation, part of a family with extensive roots, of a generation that both saw the land from afar and came from it. I know, not from your speeches, but from many hours of visits and conversations we have shared how much the State of Israel, on the Land of Israel, our sovereignty, lives and breathes in you. How important it is to you, burning with in you and moving you. You are the combination of home, legacy and tradition on one hand, with a clear-sighted view on diplomatic and security issues on the other. I have no doubt that all through your presidency your commitment to the IDF for Israel’s security was clear and dominant. You were also a security fence and a strong support that more than once strengthened the army.”