Israeli President Isaac Herzog held his first official visit to the City of Lod on Thursday.

“Lod is the State of Israel and the State of Israel is Lod,” Herzog stated.

“If we cannot coexist in Lod we cannot coexist anywhere in the country,” he stressed.

Herzog was referring to domestic riots that spread throughout the country during Operation Guardian of the Walls, in which Israeli Arabs attacked Jews. Lod’s residence, in particular, suffered from constant violence plaguing the mixed Jewish and Arab city.