President Herzog Tours Kibbutz Nir Oz On Gaza Border With President Milei Of Argentina

By BJLife Israel Newsroom
Posted on 02/08/24

President Isaac Herzog today, Thursday, hosted President Javier Milei of Argentina on a tour of Kibbutz Nir Oz on the Gaza border. One quarter of the Kibbutz members were either murdered or taken hostage in the abhorrent attack by Hamas terrorists on 7 October. During their tour, the Presidents were joined by Ofelia Roitman who was taken hostage and released from Gaza, and was returning to her home for the first time after the attack. The Presidents visited a number of houses on the Kibbutz including the house of the Bibas family.

The Presidents toured the spot where Hamas terrorists broke into the Kibbutz at 6:35am on 7 October, overlooking Khan Yunis.

After their tour, both Presidents made statements to the media.

President Herzog: Señor Presidenta, our good friend, President Javier Milei of Argentina. You are here in a unique spot in Israel, and in the history of Israel.

In Kibbutz Nir Oz, a beautiful community of peace loving Israelis who dreamt and worked all their lives to develop the desert- to make it green and bloom- to extend our hands to our neighbors the Palestinians in Gaza, and on 7 October, their neighbors came forward, broke their houses, broke their windows, broke down their doors, burned their homes. Chopped, cut, tied, abducted, raped and killed so many of the members of the Kibbutz and so many of the citizens of Israel in this region. One of the most barbaric and sadistic terror attacks in modern times, especially since the Holocaust of the Jews in World War Two. That is why we have the full right of self-defense, to protect our people and make sure that this will never happen again. And that is why we are fighting the Hamas enemies - a proxy of Iran, part of an empire of evil that wants to eradicate hope and peace from this region. We are standing here to protect the values of the entire free world.

Your visit here today is a unique show of solidarity, of friendship, of a deep understanding of the feelings and the agony that Israel is going through, and also sharing with us the vision of hope: We shall rebuild this place. We shall bring back the community. And we shall protect Israelis and we hopefully will create a different future for us and for our neighbors.

Together, we call from here for the immediate release of all Israeli and other hostages who are they in Gaza, all 136, their immediate release, their coming back home. This is a clear violation and a crime against humanity. And we all stand up and call for the entire world community, especially friends in Latin America, who can press and who can pressure Iran and its leadership to make sure that our sons and daughters come back home safely as soon as possible.

So, thank you President Milei, I could see how emotional this visit here and in Israel was for you. We say, in Hebrew- “Chaver” like your name Javier means friend. You're a true, dear friend of Israel and we appreciate and thank you very much.

President Milei: Thank you President Herzog, and thanks to all those of you who have made this visit possible. This is a visit that has truly been very moving. It's something that has touched me deep in my soul. As we watched the images from around the world we were filled with horror, but now seeing them up close and personal in real life, is all the more disturbing and such a powerful experience. When we also listen to the accounts of the families, families that have been literally cut in half, I think of among others, Ofelia who was kidnapped and I think of all the things she went through, it was so truly painful having gone through the experience herself, and being in touch with the victims and being in the place where all this happens is so disturbing.

And let me once again say what I've been saying all along, we strongly condemned the terrorist acts of the terrorist group Hamas, and we continue to reaffirm our solidarity towards the people and the State of Israel and our support for Israel's right to legitimate self-defense. And again, we see that it was the indifference of the free world that made the Nazi Holocaust possible. And as President Herzog said, the free world can't remain indifferent in this case, as we see clear examples of terrorism and antisemitism and what I would describe as 21st Century Nazism. And when we hear about the methods that were used this time, it reminds us of the atrocities of the Holocaust. And we again strongly and unambiguously, condemn these abhorrent actions and reaffirm our solidarity and support for Israel, again for the legitimate right to self-defense. We will continue to work in order to demand going forward the release of all of the hostages, regardless of the nationality. Of course, there are Argentine nationals among the hostages as well, but this is a crime against humanity. And this must be redressed. So, I would like to conclude by thanking you for the welcome and you can rest assured that in Argentina, you have a President who's a true friend of you. Thank you.