President Herzog Honors ZAKA Volunteers for Recovering Bodies
President Isaac Herzog hosted a ceremony to honor the volunteers of ZAKA, the national rescue and recovery organization, for their work in recovering bodies following the October 7th Hamas attacks and other emergencies. Speaking at the event, Herzog expressed deep gratitude on behalf of the state, emphasizing the unique nature of ZAKA's volunteer efforts, which operate in situations where saving lives is no longer possible.
"You do the hardest work at the hardest hours," Herzog stated. "Your success, paradoxically, is rest, not yours, but the eternal rest of someone else, which only you can provide out of true kindness. A person does not cease to be a person the moment they die, but only if no one comes to look for them. What you bring to families is a place for comfort: one spot in the world that says, 'there was a person, they are here, and we know where.'" He likened their mission to a verse in Ezekiel, calling them "people of the eternal, people whose identity is that they are always there. Be strong and courageous."
ZAKA CEO Dovi Weissmandl thanked the President, recalling their meeting under fire in Sderot in the early days after the massacre. He described the honor as a recognition of sensitive work in moments no one wants to be in, providing reinforcement for volunteers and their families. During the ceremony, the new book "True Resilience," documenting volunteer testimonies, was launched by ZAKA's Resilience Division Chair, Dr. Vered Atzmon-Meshulam. She described witnessing volunteers repeatedly enter unimaginable scenes with quiet humility and reverence to restore a person's name and dignity.
Atzmon-Meshulam shared a memory of ZAKA commander Haim Otmazgin from the night of October 8th, where exhausted volunteers sang "Kol Ha'Olam Kulo" (The Entire World), emphasizing the lesson that "a narrow bridge is not crossed alone, it is crossed together." The ceremony concluded with the presentation of ZAKA's official postage stamp to the President, saluting the thousands of volunteers working tirelessly for the dignity of the deceased.
