President Herzog Meets Family of Murdered Yimno Zalaka to Promote Anti-Violence Initiative

On July 22, President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal hosted the family of Yimno Zalaka at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. The meeting marked three months since the 21-year-old Zalaka was fatally attacked by a group of youths in Petah Tikva on Israel's Independence Day evening. Zalaka succumbed to his injuries two days later in the hospital.

During the gathering, the President expressed solidarity with the Zalaka family and condemned the violence that led to Yimno's death, calling on Israeli society to unite against hatred and internal violence. He emphasized the destructive impact of such hatred on the social fabric and stressed collective responsibility to combat it.

Yimno's older sister, Yiros Zalaka, introduced the family’s initiative "Love Like Yimno," aimed at eradicating violence and fostering mutual responsibility within Israeli society. The project promotes the values Yimno embodied, including unconditional acceptance and respect for all individuals. Yimno's father lamented that while Israel faces many external enemies, internal hatred is what ultimately destroyed their son on the nation's Independence Day.

Michal Herzog also addressed the family, highlighting the importance of remembrance and societal unity, and praised the Zalaka family's efforts to transform their pain into a message of positive change. The meeting coincided with the Jewish fast day of Tisha B'Av, adding a solemn context to the remembrance and call for societal healing.