President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal, arrived in New York as part of an official visit. During their time in the city, the couple visited the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in Queens.
The president and first lady on Sunday prayed and lit candles at the gravesite, offering heartfelt supplications for the safe return of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, the success and safety of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and security personnel, the healing of the wounded, and in memory of those killed.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kotlarsky, a senior figure in Chabad’s global outreach efforts, welcomed Herzog and his wife. The rabbi shared insights into the continued growth of Chabad’s network of emissaries worldwide, even during a year marked by a troubling surge in antisemitism.
Inside the prayer area at the gravesite, Herzog placed a handwritten note that read, “For the swift and complete return of all hostages, for the victory and safety of IDF soldiers and security forces wherever they are, for the recovery of all the injured, and for the return of evacuees. Amen.”
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This visit held personal significance for Herzog, occurring 48 years after his first encounter with the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Brooklyn. As a 15-year-old, Herzog accompanied his father, Chaim Herzog, who was serving as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, for a visit to the Rebbe on the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret.
The visit also comes just over three months after U.S. President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s gravesite, underscoring its continued significance as a site of global reflection and prayer.