Speech by the President of the State of Israel, Mr. Isaac Herzog, at the Presentation of the Jewish Rescuer Citation to Rescuers from Hungary, December 2022

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Speech by the President of the State of Israel, Mr. Isaac Herzog, at the Ceremony Awarding the Jewish Rescuer Citation to Rescuers from Hungary, December 2022

Heroes and heroines of rescue, family members, and all those who honor the rescuers.

At today’s ceremony, you are helping correct a longstanding injustice and recognize the heroism of Jewish rescuers during the Holocaust. When the State of Israel was established, the law determined that the state would recognize rescuers of Jews as Righteous Among the Nations only if they were not Jewish. In contrast, Jews who rescued fellow Jews, even while risking their own lives, were forgotten or not sufficiently acknowledged in Jewish literature and history.

Now, almost eighty years later, it is clear to us that it is right and proper to honor Jewish rescuers as well.

Alongside many underground movements, in which Jewish men and women acted with determination and faith in various countries under Nazi occupation, fought in battles, hid Jews, and were at times captured, tortured, and executed, the underground Zionist youth movements in Hungary operated with extraordinary courage, almost beyond imagination — a story that has not been told enough.

Members disguised themselves as soldiers of the Arrow Cross militia, rescued Jews who had been captured by the murderers and their collaborators, brought them to the Glass House and back to life, distributed forged rescue certificates, supplied food, provided aid to children’s homes in the ghetto, and smuggled refugees across borders. They knew that if they were caught, they would bring disaster upon the rescue movement and pay with their lives.

Around 200 of those heroes are being awarded today with the Jewish Rescuer Citation, and I would especially like to mention two dear women: Sarah Epstein and Daisy Halpin.

I am happy that you are here with us today, and that we have the privilege of saying to you, on behalf of the entire nation: thank you. To recognize your heroism, to honor this remarkable rescue movement, and to wish you good health and a long life until 120.

We understand that, sadly, with the passage of time, almost no rescuers remain alive, and therefore the citation is awarded to the sons, daughters, and future generations.

I would also like to strengthen the guardians of memory. Thank you to Mr. Yuval Elpan for his tireless work, to Mr. David Gur who keeps the flame of the underground alive, and to all those who preserve the memory of the rescuers.

Bless you all.

Members of the Executive Committee, Moshe Gromb and Ron Kogman, present Isaac Herzog with books from the series “Jews Who Rescued Jews During the Holocaust,” on June 11, 2024.