Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the internal unity of Israelis is a debt owed to those who perished in Israel's battles.
Speaking at a memorial service for Israel's fallen soldiers Bennett warned against the polarization in Israeli society that is often expressed in the political discourse.
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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at a memorial service for fallen soldiers in Jerusalem on Tuesday
(Photo: AFP)
"If internal unity fails, and anger and hate, is allowed to take hold, our enemies will use it to harm us. Our people carry the scars of our forefather's internal strife," he said.
"We have a strong military and the best security agencies and they are on guard," he said. "We are guarding against threats from near and far. As the person charged with Israel's security I can definitively say, our strength surpasses that of our enemies," Bennett said.
Bennett said Israel has an opportunity to amend for the sin of brotherly hate, which has destroyed Jewish nations in distant history. "The decision is ours, he said. "We can deal with the arguments and not with those who make them, we must listen, debate, but remember above all we are one family and that is our debt to the fallen and our duty to future generations," he said.
The prime minister recounted stories from his own military service and some of the people he knew, who had since been killed in Israel's wars.
They were my brothers," he said adding that that was so, regardless of where they lived or what their origin was or their political views.
During my service, in the outposts in Lebanon, I fell in love with our people, we all did," he said. "How could you not? We were together. Many did not return, but they too are our brothers for eternity. I cannot speak for them but know that if they could they too would ask us not to let our disagreements tear us apart," Bennett said.