Michal Herzog stresses the importance of Jewish unity and discusses her efforts to heal society after the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, Israel’s first lady, Michal Herzog, has renewed her call for Hamas terrorists to be held accountable for the sexual violence they perpetrated during their massacre of 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023, and subsequently, against some of the 251 hostages they kidnapped that day into Gaza.
Herzog has been a key voice in bringing attention to the terrorist organization’s systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, including writing an opinion piece in Newsweek in November 2023, titled “The Silence From International Bodies Over Hamas’ Mass Rapes Is a Betrayal of All Women.”
In an interview with JNS on March 5, Herzog—a lawyer and professional mediator by profession—stressed the importance of protecting women not only by fiercely defending their rights but also by helping give them the strength and courage to tell their stories.
“We have to keep talking about it not only from an Israeli point of view but from a universal perspective, protecting women in the world, because this is bound to happen in another conflict,” she said.
The first lady spoke to JNS about the changes in her role since Oct. 7, including the decision made along with her husband, President Isaac Herzog, to open the President’s Residence in Jerusalem to the people of Israel to assist them in overcoming the national trauma.
“It’s been a total change in what we do. We never thought we would see over a thousand bereaved families or that I would have an employee card at Sheba Medical Center [in Ramat Gan] because I go to visit the wounded so often,” Mrs. Herzog said.