JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel must protect Jews around the world in addition to its own borders, said the army’s chief of staff, Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz.
"Today we stand against any threat with an army that is capable of beating all its enemies," Gantz said Monday at a seminar for Israel Defense Forces’ staff at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. " We must defend the borders of Israel and all its communities, but we must also look around and pay attention to every place where a Jew is harmed for being guilty of nothing but his Jewish identity."
"If in Kiev a Jew is beaten when leaving a synagogue, and in Toulouse children are murdered in cold blood; if in Georgia and Thailand they try to attack Israeli targets, we must remain steadfast and fulfill Israel’s destiny as a safe harbor for all Jews wherever they may be."
The annual seminar comes the same week as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom Hashoah, which begins Wednesday night. As part of the seminar, a memorial ceremony was held in Yad Vashem’s Hall of Names.
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