Governor Hochul Today Visited the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchure in the Old City of Jerusalem, Kfar Aza Kibbutz, Shaare Tzedek Hospital, and United Hatzalah HQ
The Governor Also Met with President Herzog and Prime Minister Netanyahu
Governor Kathy Hochul today continued her solidarity mission in Israel. During day two of her trip, the Governor visited the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchure in the Old City of Jerusalem, visited Shaarei Tzedek Hospital, toured the HQ for United Hatzalah, met with President Herzog and Prime Minister Netanyahu, and toured Kfar Aza kibbutz. Governor Hochul also delivered remarks to a gathering organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.
B-ROLL of Governor Hochul visiting the Western Wall is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
B-ROLL of Governor Hochul visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
B-ROLL of Governor Hochul visiting Shaare Tzedek Hospital is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
B-ROLL of Governor Hochul visiting United Hatzalah HQ is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
B-ROLL of Governor Hochul touring Kfar Aza kibbutz with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the message Governor Hochul delivered during her visit to the Old City of Jerusalem is available here.
PHOTOS of Governor Hochul's solidarity mission are available here.
A transcript of Governor Hochul’s remarks to a gathering organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations can be found below.
To see and hear and so deeply feel, not for my personal loss, but to see and hear and so deeply feel the pain of the Israeli people, it's profound. And after nine days now, which is not as big as one day. But outside of something else I saw as I came here, I saw a deep sense of resilience, a strong spirit that has been tested through time, indeed, tested through centuries. But my heart bursts with pride to know that the people of this great country are willing to stand up for humanity, to treat people with respect, to treat each other in a civilized way, in contrast to the barbaric way in which they were treated. And that takes courage. But also, they have the right to defend themselves, full stop. Because if you don't stop the aggressors, if you don't push back the forces of evil, then they do continue to rise up. And the Jewish people are strong. Not just here in Israel, but across the world.
And I'm really proud of my friends from New York, who are here today. Harriet Schleifer, leader of this great organization, thank you for your many years of friendship. To Malcolm, to William, to Eric, to Linda, my friend Jeff Levine – I see so many friends in this room. The ability to harness all this power and this belief in the cause is something that is so critically important at this time. But I want you to know this. All of your organizations are out there doing your work. It's so critically important. Know that you have political leadership. The leadership of the United States of America and the State of New York, who are in full support of our efforts here to help bring back sanity here in this region, and to let Israel know that our words of support and friendship are not just there during good times, they're there during the tough times as well.
And I will leave here a different person, profoundly touched by the stories of people, that each one is shocking in itself. Being with a father whose young wife and three children were kidnapped, not knowing their fate. Being with a young soldier who almost lost his leg, but in the process, he saved countless others. A father, who happened to be in the United States when his wife and son were kidnapped, and later found in each other's embrace. The stories are just ripping me apart as a human being to know that one human being can be so cruel to another human being, and that shakes you to your core. But we will not cower in the face of that kind of evil. That is not what our ancestors have done from the beginning of time.
And yes, this is the most deadly, horrific, disgusting attack that the 75-year-old State of Israel has ever felt. It harkens back to the images of the Holocaust, but the images of the Holocaust are one where people saw and knew what was going on and too many were silent. That silence cannot define our time right now. What we've seen, and I came here to bear witness, I must speak about, I will talk about, and I will help fortify the efforts and rally the world around the people of Israel at this time. And yes, we will stand up against any unnecessary loss of human life wherever these individuals may be. Without a doubt, we want to make sure there's humanitarian aid for all because we at the core are human beings.
But don't interpret that understanding of the need to help others, and even those who are in Gaza now, whose leadership came over and destroyed the sense of security that Israel once had. Don't misinterpret that for a lack of resolve to defend herself. She must be able to defend herself, and in so doing, we will defend her.
Thank you very much for being here with me. Thank you for coming. I appreciate you being here.