President Herzog Opens Haredi School Year, Joins Talmud Study

President Isaac Herzog inaugurated the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) school year on Monday with visits to the "Tiferet Yehuda" and "Ateret Shlomo" Talmudic academies in Kiryat Ye'arim. The visits also coincided with the 50th anniversary of the town's founding. During his visit to "Ateret Shlomo," Herzog joined students in studying the Talmud, sharing a story about his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzhak Isaac Halevi Herzog, who held a doctorate in marine biology and believed there was no contradiction between faith and science. He also recounted his grandfather's efforts after the Holocaust to rescue Jewish children hidden in monasteries.

Herzog wished the nation "love of Israel and unity of Israel, fewer arguments, fewer disturbances, and much more mutual respect." He encouraged the students to continue their studies and bring pride to their parents.

Later, the President participated in a ceremony marking Kiryat Ye'arim's jubilee, alongside founders and residents. He described the town as a place "born out of an idea and out of faith, dedicated entirely to education according to the Torah and tradition of Israel." He connected the town's history to its present character, noting that the first act recorded on its hill was the passing of the Torah from father to son, and that the road to Jerusalem was opened from its slopes during the 1948 War of Independence.

Herzog also commented on the memorial to General David "Miki" Marcus, who commanded the Jerusalem front in the War of Independence, located in the town. He saw significance in the monument's presence in a Haredi community, calling Marcus a "truly biblical figure." The President also visited the memorial earlier in the day, planted a tree in Marcus's memory, and read from his father's diary, President Chaim Herzog's, who fought in the area and described Marcus as "brave, athletic, and extroverted" with "exceptional leadership qualities."