Herzog and Biden
Herzog and BidenMaayan Toaf / GPO

President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday met with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House.

In their third meeting in the Washington as presidents, President Herzog thanked President Biden for his longstanding friendship with Israel and the Jewish people.

President Biden: “Mr. President, welcome back to the Oval Office, to the White House. You're a long time a personal friend. And, you know that my commitment to Israel is ironclad, and we share a deep friendship. I want to thank you again for being here, and the floor is yours."

President Herzog: “It’s always great honor being here in the Oval Office and with a friend such as you, Mister President. I will start with the sad news of the day. In the last two hours, two Israelis were murdered by rocket attacks from Lebanon in the northern town of Nahariya, a beautiful seashore town in the northern part of Israel.”

“Early in the day a kindergarten teacher of children with special needs bravely and wisely rescued the toddlers in the kindergarten from a drone attack. A drone exploded in the kindergarten. This is what we're going through from Lebanon, Mister President, and you know it all too well.”

Herzog continued, “We are defending our people with our soldiers and pilots. I know you are working very hard to make sure this war ends and, first and foremost, for the security for the people of Israel, as well as for the people of Lebanon. And in Gaza, we have 101 hostages for over 400 days.”

“I know, Mister President, that day in and day out you are actively seeking their safe return home as they're going through hell in the dungeons of Gaza. Clearly, you're thinking and working about the day after as well, which perhaps should be a trajectory of hope to the people of the region and the security of our neighbors as well as our own. But first we need to get our hostages back.”

“And it all starts in Tehran. It all starts in the Empire of evil, where Tehran with its proxies, they're doing whatever they can to erase stability and security and peace, calling for the annihilation of the state of Israel and seeking nuclear weapons. This has to be a major objective all throughout your term and the next term, as well as the term of the next president, because we have to make sure that they cannot fulfill their evil intentions. They're also a major engine of antisemitism and I know how much you put a focus on fighting and combating antisemitism,” emphasized President Herzog.

“But most importantly,” he concluded, “I'm here on behalf of the people of Israel, the nation of Israel, and the state of Israel to say to you, Mister President, thank you very much. As we say in Hebrew, toda raba. You've been an incredible friend of Israel and the Jewish people for decades, and we will never ever forget how you stood up with us in our darkest hour, which became our finest hour, how you came to Israel a few days after the barbaric attack of October 7th, how you helped us and supported us with words and deeds. And I want to express our heartfelt thanks to you, Mister President, which is a great legacy that you stood up with the Jewish people and the state of Israel, as you always did.”

“So I brought you a little gift, which is an archaeological artifact from the foot of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which includes the word ‘Joseph.’ And as you know in the bible, it says that Joseph will strengthen Israel. And clearly, Mister President, he has done exactly that. Thank you very much.”