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PM Netanyahu to the Students of the Bnei David Institutions in Eli: "The testament of the fallen is our mission - total victory."

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

The 37th Government
30.01.2024

Prime Minister Netanyahu: I hear talk about all kinds of deals. I would like to make it clear: We will not conclude this war without achieving all of its goals."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today, visited the Bnei David Institutions in Eli, 15 graduates of which have fallen during the war.

The Prime Minister visited the memorial room where he met with fellow bereaved Israelis Eitan Moreno - the brother of Itay, Livnat Silverman - the sister of Uriel, Asaf Ben Hamo - the brother of Michael, and Yonatan Silverman - the brother of Ariel, as well as with the yeshiva rabbis, led by Rabbi Eli Sadan.

Prime Minister Netanyahu met with the students of the yeshiva and the IDF preparatory program in the study hall, where he recited the prayer for the IDF soldiers' well-being, after which Rabbi Yoel Rechel recited the prayer for the welfare of the state.

Prime Minister Netanyahu to the Bnei David students:

"Thank you Rabbi Sadan, you are a great leader of the people of Israel, and this exemplary yeshiva is to the glory of the people, heritage and fighters of Israel.

We are in the midst of a war between the sons of light and the sons of darkness. The sons of darkness, the monsters of Hamas and their partners in Hezbollah, and others, thought and said that we were weak, vulnerable, and as a spider's web - that is how they defined us. They have discovered sacrifice, heroism and great intensity, which reflects the heroism of Israel throughout our generations.

This generation is not diminishing; this generation is growing. Not only is it growing, it is storming forward with courage and an unparalleled strength of spirit. This is what is happening, with your friends, with anyone who leaves this place and with many others among the people of Israel. But this entails a heavy price, the price of the tribulations with which the Land of Israel is acquired, the loss of our best sons and fighters, many from this very study hall, which is already bereft of amazing fighters like Roi Klein, Eliraz Perez, Emmanuel Moreno and others.

We were just in the memorial room, their pictures were on the wall but the pictures are in the heart. The heavy price is not just the loss of these splendid sons, it is also the suffering of the families. I know the price of bereavement, it is too heavy to bear, but the families bear it with pride.

What I would like to say to the families, to you and to all citizens of Israel: The testament of the fallen is our mission. It is possible to summarize this mission in two words: Total victory.

This is not 'another round', neither is it an exchange of blows, nor is it an operation - it is total victory. Nothing less. I am committed to it. Our fighters are committed to it and the overwhelming majority of the people is committed to it. We will not compromise on anything less than total victory.

I hear talk about all kinds of deals. I would like to make it clear: We will not conclude this war without achieving all of its goals. This means eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel.

We will not withdraw the IDF from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists. None of this will happen. What will happen? Total victory. This victory, as it is written, will be achieved 'Not by might and not by power but by My spirit says the Lord of Hosts.' [Zechariah 4:6]. By spirit; it will be achieved by spirit.

Bialik bid us to go to the study hall. He knew this well. He was in the study hall of the Volozhin Yeshiva (https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Volozhin_Yeshiva_of), the mother of Lithuanian yeshivas, that my grandfather, Rabbi Natan Milikovsky-Netanyahu studied in, and where Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook studied. A deep friendship sprung up between them. But Volozhin, with all that it contributed to the world of Torah, was in the Diaspora. And here in Eli, this study hall is planted in the soil of the motherland, where our ancestors walked, fought, planted, dreamed and built. Here - in this place. From here stems the well of generations. Here burns the flame, the flame of the promise of the eternity of Israel in the Land of Israel. This the great and noble mission. It is your mission, the mission of the fallen and it is our mission.

I salute the fallen. I salute you and tell you - together we will fight and with
G-d's help, together we will win."

The visit concluded with the singing of Ani maamin (https://www.hebrewsongs.com/song-anima'amin.htm) and Hatikvah.

Prime Minister Netanyahu was accompanied by his Chief-of-Staff Tzachi Braverman, Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs and Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Head Yisrael Gantz.