President Herzog Inaugurates Rabbi Amitai Center at Har Etzion Yeshiva

President Isaac Herzog attended the official inauguration of the Rabbi Yehuda Amitai Center at the Har Etzion Hesder Yeshiva in Alon Shvut on Thursday. The center, established in memory of Rabbi Yehuda Amitai, a founder and long-time head of the yeshiva, aims to bridge the world of Torah study with contemporary Israeli society.

During his visit, President Herzog met with the yeshiva's leadership, including Rabbis Yaakov Medan, Baruch Gigi, and Moshe Lichtenstein, as well as center staff, to learn about its planned activities. He then addressed attendees, including Knesset members Moshe Solomon and Moshe Kinley Tur-Paz, both alumni of the yeshiva, Gush Etzion Regional Council head Yaron Rosenthal, and members of Rabbi Amitai's family.

In his speech, President Herzog emphasized the importance of unity, stating, "The Torah from which we drink must connect us, unite us, and not, God forbid, separate us." He urged the audience to emulate Rabbi Amitai's legacy of love for the people, the land, and the Torah, highlighting that "only in the unity of Israel will we complete the task! Only in the unity of Israel is there a future for the building of the people, the land, and the Torah!"

Rabbi Beni Lehman, head of the new center, spoke about the responsibility of the current generation to continue the Zionist endeavor and the spiritual mission of the Jewish people. He cautioned against the exclusive focus on one value at the expense of others, stating, "We must not remain silent when one central value receives exclusivity and becomes a supreme and absolute value, while concern for other Torah values, humanistic and universal, is perceived as weakness or surrender to a foreign spirit."

Rabbi Baruch Gigi, head of the yeshiva, noted that the institution has opened "many windows to the public square, in education, Torah, law, industry, and health," and that the new center represents further expansion. The center's activities will be guided by the principles of its founders, Rabbi Amitai and Rabbi Lichtenstein. Rabbi Amitai, a Holocaust survivor, was also a founder of the political party Meimad and briefly served as a minister in the Peres government after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.