Herzog Declares Denial of Jewish Self-Determination Is Antisemitism

Speaking at the Second International Conference on Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem, Israeli President Isaac Herzog delivered a clear and forceful message denying the Jewish people their right to national self-determination is antisemitism no matter who is saying it.

“To deny the Jewish people and only the Jewish people the right to self-determination in their national home is antisemitism,” Herzog stated. He made the remark pointedly, referencing comments by New York City Council member Zohran Mamdani, a known critic of Israel, without mentioning him by name.

The timing of Herzog’s statement carried added emotional weight. It came just one day after the remains of Israel Border Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili were recovered from Gaza, bringing an end to the hostage crisis that has haunted Israel since the October 2023 terror attack. “For the first time since 2014, not a single Israeli citizen, living or dead, is being held as a human bargaining chip in Gaza,” Herzog declared.

Marking the 81st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Herzog reminded the world of its collective promise: Never Again. But that promise, he warned, is faltering in the face of a global resurgence in antisemitism.

“We are failing to meet our vow,” he said, citing a troubling rise in anti-Jewish hostility from London to Sydney and beyond. His words resonated deeply with attendees, many of whom represent Jewish communities under increasing pressure.

The international conference, hosted by Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, drew high-level participation, including Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed the event, describing antisemitism as a growing threat that must be treated as an attack on shared democratic values.

Netanyahu urged global governments to recognize antisemitism not only as a Jewish issue, but as a moral and civilizational crisis. “Antisemitism has reemerged as a global threat,” he said, “and it must be confronted as an assault on our common civilization.”

Herzog’s remarks were more than a defense of Israel they were a powerful assertion of Jewish identity and the inalienable right of the Jewish people to live freely in their ancestral homeland. As hate tries to rebrand itself under the mask of political critique, Israel’s leadership is making it clear: denying Israel’s legitimacy is denying Jewish existence.

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