Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu used his annual Tisha B’Av message on Wednesday evening to call for national unity and announce his intention to form "a broad national government" after Israel’s October 27 election.
In the video message, Netanyahu said he would seek to strengthen national cohesion.
“As prime minister of Israel, I intend to deepen the unity within us,” he said. “Therefore, I will work to establish a broad national government, a stable government that will ensure our security and future."
He added: “I know that during the election period there will be disputes that hinder our view of this, but I also know that we are far more united than it seems."
Netanyahu said his confidence stemmed from witnessing Israelis come together during the country’s most difficult moments.
“Because I saw you at a moment of trial. Because I meet our heroic fighters. Because I saw the nation of Israel, across all its sectors, in full glory; a people who extend a helping hand to each other,” he said.
Reflecting on the destruction of the First and Second Temples, Netanyahu contrasted the divisions that led to national catastrophe with Israel’s unity in the aftermath of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023.
“On the eve of Tisha B’Av, we remember the destruction of the Temple. We remember the terrible price of hatred and boycotts among us,” he said. “Over the past three years, with joint forces, we prevented the destruction of our national home.”
The prime minister praised Israelis for standing together during the country’s recent wars and preventing “the destruction of the Third Temple”, saying: “Instead of warring among brothers, we became brothers fighting shoulder to shoulder in order to repel those who seek our lives.
“We united forces, we fought like lions, and together we saved the State of Israel.
“We showed the world that the nation of Israel is a brave nation with a brave army, a generation of heroes.”
Netanyahu said Israel had “repelled the terror of destruction” and achieved “tremendous accomplishments.”
“Although the work is still not finished; although many challenges still lie before us, I am certain with every fibre of my soul that we will prevail,” he went on.
Concluding his message, Netanyahu drew a direct lesson from Tisha B’Av, the Jewish people’s annual day of mourning for the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE, along with other tragedies in Jewish history.
“And there lies the great lesson: Baseless hatred brought destruction on us; love of Israel brought us redemption. Together, with God’s help, we will ensure the eternity of Israel,” he said.
Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on Wednesday for “baseless love” as the platform to continue building the national home of the Jewish people.
“If baseless hatred destroyed the Temple, then only baseless love, love of the people, and love of the land can continue building our shared home,” Herzog said during a visit to the training base of the IDF’s Hasmonean Infantry Brigade in the northern Jordan Valley.
“That is precisely the spirit I encountered this evening among the soldiers of the Hasmonean Brigade – a spirit of dedication, faith, responsibility and partnership,” he continued.
Herzog visited the IDF’s first Charedi brigade to read from the Book of Lamentations, a collection within the Bible of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.
The Israeli president said that while reading from Lamentations, he thought about the lesson of baseless love that has accompanied the Jewish people for 2,000 years.
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