Herzog marks 25 years since 9/11 at Israel's memorial near Jerusalem

President Isaac Herzog issued a message marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States, delivering it from Israel's 9/11 Living Memorial in the hills outside Jerusalem. The statement was published by the President's Spokesperson through the Israeli government's official press release service.

In the message, Herzog said the morning of September 11, 2001 in New York had been shattered by the sight of the twin towers collapsing, and he bowed his head in memory of those killed in New York, at the Pentagon and in the fields of Pennsylvania. He also praised first responders, emergency services and ordinary New Yorkers who, in his words, "rushed into the fire and dust to save the lives of their fellow citizens."

What the president said

The core line of the statement, and the one the president's office placed at the top of the release, was that "even 25 years later, the evil of that vicious assault on the United States remains as shocking as ever." Herzog added that the global struggle against terrorism continues daily and that Israel understands the challenge closely.

He said there is no justification for attacks on innocent people of any nationality, American, Israeli or otherwise, and described the United States as Israel's greatest ally and friend. The message closed with the traditional Jewish formula of remembrance, that the memory of the victims should be a blessing.

Who the Israeli president is

Isaac Herzog is Israel's head of state. The office is largely ceremonial: the president does not set policy or command the armed forces, and the government is led by the prime minister. What the presidency carries instead is a representative and symbolic role, which is why anniversary messages, condolence statements and commemorations of this kind are issued from the president's residence rather than from a ministry. Herzog, a former leader of the Israeli Labor Party and former chairman of the Jewish Agency, has used the role heavily for outreach to Jewish communities abroad and for relations with the United States.

The memorial in the Jerusalem Hills

The site Herzog spoke from, described in the release as Israel's 9/11 Living Memorial, stands in the hills west of Jerusalem, an area of forested ridges between the city and the coastal plain that also holds several national memorial sites. It is the location Israeli officials typically use for commemorations of the 2001 attacks, and choosing it places the message physically at a monument to American victims rather than at a podium in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.

The press release does not describe the memorial's design, its history, or whether a public ceremony accompanied the president's message. It states only that the message was sent from the site on the anniversary date.

Why Israeli leaders mark the date

The September 11 attacks are commemorated annually in Israel at both the governmental and communal level, and Israeli statements on the anniversary tend to link the event to Israel's own experience of attacks on civilians. Herzog's message follows that pattern, moving from the commemoration of the American dead to a broader assertion that targeting civilians is never justified and that the campaign against terrorism is ongoing.

The framing also carries a diplomatic dimension. Israel's relationship with Washington is its most important foreign alliance, and presidential messages on American national dates are part of the routine architecture of that relationship. Herzog's line that Israel "will always stand with America" is addressed as much to an American audience as to an Israeli one.

What the statement does not say

The release published by the government contains the text of the president's message and little else. It does not say whether Herzog appeared in person at the memorial or sent the message remotely, whether American diplomatic representatives or bereaved families attended, or whether any other Israeli officials spoke.

It gives no casualty figures for the 2001 attacks, no detail on the memorial site itself, and no indication of whether the message was coordinated with commemorations in the United States. It also does not reference any current events, beyond the general statement that the fight against terrorism continues. Because this account rests on a single official document, none of these gaps can be filled from the material available.