Israel in ‘existential’ battle for ‘right to exist’ – Ambassador

“It’s a war against those who want to delegitimize the State of Israel,” said Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s current multifront war is a battle for the continued existence of the Jewish State, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. said on Monday.

“While we fight the military war on the ground in Gaza, we fight another war which is critical as well, the war to defend our right to exist, our right to defend ourselves,” said Ambassador Mike Herzog at the Jerusalem Post conference.

“It’s a war of perceptions and narratives. It’s a war against those who want to delegitimize the State of Israel. It is a critical war, and we need to think about this strategically, long term.”

“For us, this war is existential. It touches on existential nerves,” he added.

Notably, Herzog was careful to avoid criticizing President Joe Biden, whom some in Israel view as having hampered Israel’s efforts in the ongoing fighting.

Biden has repeatedly made highly critical statements of Israeli military policy, as well as withholding military aid in order to secure a commitment from Israel to limit its operations in Rafah.

But Herzog stressed that the U.S. presidents had provided important support to Israel during the war.

“Since the beginning of the war, we have enjoyed a supply of weapon systems and munitions to the tune of billions of dollars,” he said.

“We just saw the passing of the supplemental [budget], which is the biggest ever. The U.S. vetoed four anti-Israel resolutions at the UN [Security Council].

“They stood with us at the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice,” Herzog said.

“And when we are massively attacked by Iran, with hundreds of munitions on the night between April 13 and 14th, they stood with us.”