"Dear bereaved families, you are my family.
Your anguish is my anguish and my family's, my late mother's and that of my father and brother. I know this anguish.
I know what suffering you are going through and the scars that you bear daily on your bodies and in your souls. I know how you are coping today, and other days, with the loss of your loved ones, who have gone and will not come back, with the memory of your loved ones, with the smile you will not see and the voice you will not hear. I know.
But I know something else that gives comfort and not just a little. We know that throughout the history of our people, our existence here has always depended on those of sons and daughters who raised the sword of David. When the sword was not in our hand, we fell and were slaughtered and when we re-established our lives, we raised the sword anew. Only it, only it, can bring us the olive branch, but the price is terrible.
One of the things that has always impressed me in the Bible is not only the story of David's heroism but also David's elegy for Saul and Jonathan. The price that we have paid in the fall of the best of our sons so that we might live; this price is known to the entire nation, but you know it better than any other part of our people.
I would like you to remember that that the awful price that you have paid is part of the existence of the Jewish People and the revival of its sovereignty on its land. We will always remember our loved ones who have fallen and we will also remember their great contribution so that AM YISRAEL CHAI."
Your anguish is my anguish and my family's, my late mother's and that of my father and brother. I know this anguish.
I know what suffering you are going through and the scars that you bear daily on your bodies and in your souls. I know how you are coping today, and other days, with the loss of your loved ones, who have gone and will not come back, with the memory of your loved ones, with the smile you will not see and the voice you will not hear. I know.
But I know something else that gives comfort and not just a little. We know that throughout the history of our people, our existence here has always depended on those of sons and daughters who raised the sword of David. When the sword was not in our hand, we fell and were slaughtered and when we re-established our lives, we raised the sword anew. Only it, only it, can bring us the olive branch, but the price is terrible.
One of the things that has always impressed me in the Bible is not only the story of David's heroism but also David's elegy for Saul and Jonathan. The price that we have paid in the fall of the best of our sons so that we might live; this price is known to the entire nation, but you know it better than any other part of our people.
I would like you to remember that that the awful price that you have paid is part of the existence of the Jewish People and the revival of its sovereignty on its land. We will always remember our loved ones who have fallen and we will also remember their great contribution so that AM YISRAEL CHAI."