Visiting-Israeli President Isaac Herzog was hosted by The HRH The Prince of Wales at his Highgrove House residence.
By Erin Viner
The two leaders discussed a number of pressing issues, according to statement TV7 obtained from the Israeli President’s International Media Spokesperson, including “regional issues and threats.”
President Herzog thanked Prince Charles for his important work to promote Holocaust education, noting his participation in the Fifth World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem in January 2020.
Stressed the great importance that Israel attaches to relations with the United Kingdom, the Israeli leader mentioned his own personal affinity to Britain through his own family background. Herzog is the son of a Belfast-born British Army major who participated in the Normandy landings and the liberation of the Nazi Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and is also the descendent of rabbis who served across Britain.
President Herzog commended The Prince of Wales for his personal leadership on the environment over the years, while underscoring that concern over environmental issues is “a core plank” of his administration. He also affirmed Israel’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, while pointing out how much the Jewish State can “contribute to global efforts through its advancement of innovative green technologies,” said the statement.
During the visit, President Herzog also presented Prince Charles with a special gift by announcing the establishment of the Compassion and Perseverance Scholarship in Nursing in Memory of Princess Alice of Battenberg, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Princess Alice, the mother of the late Duke of Edinburgh and grandmother of the Prince of Wales, is recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations for saving Jews during the Holocaust. She is buried in on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives.
The Hebrew University scholarship for students at the Hadassah-Hebrew University Henrietta Szold School of Nursing was established to pay tribute to Princess Alice’ “compassion, deep spirituality, and immense perseverance to help those in need,” added the statement.
President Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog met leaders of the British Jewish community in London as part of their official visit in the United Kingdom this morning.
Expressing condemnation of the murder of Eliyahu Kay on Sunday morning in Jerusalem by a Hamas terrorist, the President noted that the South African immigrant to Israel was the grandson of Rabbi Shlomo and Rebbetzin Lynndy Levin of South Hampstead Synagogue in London.
Attending the meeting were representatives from the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Jewish Leadership Council, the Union of Jewish Students, and Our Israel Our Future charity organization. Israeli Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely and Jewish Agency Director-General Amira Ahronoviz also joined in the gathering.