TOI reports that President Isaac Herzog on Thursday issued a warning about internal hatred leading to destruction in comments marking Jerusalem Day, which celebrates the reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli control, but has been marred in recent years by a contentious nationalist march through the Old City’s Muslim Quarter.

Herzog’s comments came as government leaders said talks hosted by the president aimed at reaching a compromise on the coalition’s judicial overhaul remained stalled. The legislation has exposed fault lines in Israeli society and sparked massive protests and political discord.

The never-ending journey of Jerusalem “has taught us as a society and a country that there is only one way for us to undertake this journey — together,” Herzog said at an official state ceremony.

“In particular on Jerusalem Day,” Herzog added, he must cite the phrase from Jewish sages “that senseless hatred destroyed Jerusalem — and I emphasize: Unjustified hatred is not just a reason but a consequence of itself; there are factors that lead to it.”

Rabbinic texts explain the destruction of Jerusalem’s Second Temple 2,000 years ago and the dispersal of the ancient Israelites as a consequence of the toxic relationship between rival Jewish sects in Jerusalem.

Herzog added that stories of hatred and destruction throughout Jewish history all stem from an inability “to manage the disagreement, to solve the dispute, to put the internal debate aside on the way to peace. That’s what leads to hatred, and hatred leads to destruction.”

The Jewish people must learn from such lessons and put their findings into action, he said.

Source - TOI/Twitter - Image - Haim Zach/GPO