The President on hostility towards the ultra-Orthodox: "Calls on rabbis to encourage dialogue and familiarity""

April 22, 2023   

President of the State of Israel Yitzhak Herzog sits down for a special interview with Sari Roth ahead of the 75th Independence Day of the State of Israel, and addresses the many burning issues on the state's agenda: the conflict between the sectors, legal reform and the draft law. Regarding the hostility towards the Haredi public in the streets, the President says: "There are feelings, there are emotions, because we live in an era in which social networks are on fire. Let's not get confused, there is a lot of hidden hostility and we need to dismantle it and encourage everyone to talk and get to know each other. And one of the disturbing things is that sometimes people live in their communities and don't want to know the fears and pains of other populations and other citizens." "I think that this moment, precisely from it, can come something very positive. Because people are starting to take a little interest in each other, and thousands of people come here to the President's residence every month just to talk. And you really see the love of Israel." "When groups sat here, even the most extreme, believe me, even from the protest, I argued and told them, get to know the processes that the Haredi public is going through. And when Haredim sat here, I told them, you need to understand the fear of a secular public, or a non-religious public, who is afraid of changing their lifestyles. The Haredi public also needs to know how to deal with this appropriately." "I think the Haredim today understand that no one is coming to change their lifestyles. Therefore, they too need to know and come and say, we are not coming to change anyone's lifestyles, everyone will live in their faith and we will live together. And I think that the impressive response of the Haredi public to the demonstration in Bnei Brak demonstrates maturity and a different way of dealing with developments.". The full interview will be published tomorrow, Sunday, at 8:00 PM.