The Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, at the ceremony for the recipients of the President’s Award for Outstanding Soldiers

President of the State of Israel and his wife,
Minister of Defense and his wife,
Outstanding soldiers,
Dear families,
Honored guests,

The ceremony for the President’s Award for Outstanding Soldiers on Independence Day is an Israeli tradition. Every year, this is the most festive and joyous ceremony, but this year our joy is not complete. The ceremony is taking place during a time of war, and the happiness for the achievements of the outstanding soldiers is mixed with sadness for the heavy price and the missing ranks.

Jewish tradition distinguishes between times of joy and sorrow. In Ecclesiastes it is written: "A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." However, the poem from the Rosh Hashanah prayer "Et Sha'are Ratson" offers a way to reconcile the two with the words: "An eye weeps bitterly, and the heart rejoices."

Throughout the generations, the Jewish people knew how to remember the pain even in times of joy, without numbing either of them. At the marriage ceremony, a cup is broken, and at the entrance to a new home, an incomplete corner is left, as a reminder of the destruction of Jerusalem..

And so also in marking our independence, in the closeness of time between Memorial Day and Independence Day. Remembering the wars of the past and those who fell in them makes us sad, and the joy of independence, which does not ignore the grief at its cost, is a source of comfort, pride, strength and hope.
This is the way of our people - mourning for what was lost, hoping for good, and working to bring it about.

 
Dear outstanding soldiers,
Excellence is an act of hope and optimism, looking to the future. It aims to take responsibility for the collective and to be ready to act on its behalf above and beyond what is expected. Excellence is a significant part of being able to overcome the difficulty and the loss, and to bring about a better future.

Your commanders chose you because you excel in missions, and no less important than that - you excel in values.
You represent everyone who chose to serve a meaningful service and fulfill it to the best of their ability. Together, you are the story of the IDF's excellence, the key to its success and victory is in combining its forces.

We all see this in the months of the war, in the integrated and coordinated action of the Ground Forces with the Air Force and Navy, intelligence and firepower capabilities. I saw this up close every time I met with the combat teams in the Gaza Strip. They fought shoulder to shoulder, regular soldiers and reservists, soldiers and commanders, who came from different units and did not know each other, until they entered the battlefield to excel and win together.
 
The soldiers of the IDF are working and performing their duty with excellence even at this hour and on all fronts: in the south, in the north, in the center - far and near. They do it there so that we can be here, with you and in your honor.

 
120 of your personal stories are the story of the diverse Israeli society, the story of the IDF as the people's army. Among you are those from cities and villages, natives of the land and immigrants from six continents, representatives of all religions and denominations, including those who grew up in the ultra-Orthodox society and are serving in the IDF.

How good it will be if in a few years, among the ranks of the outstanding soldiers, there will sit more of its children, proving that it is possible to maintain religious identity and religious lifestyle all the while excelling in military service for the people and the state. "Scholar and warrior" – these do not contradict each other but rather complete each other – this is a clear national security need.

 
The outstanding soldiers are the beautiful face of the State of Israel. On this beautiful face, furrows of joy and wrinkles of sorrow are etched. Among you, there are those who have lost a close family member in the war. Some of you belong to communities that were evacuated from their homes for their safety. Each of you knows someone who has fallen or been wounded, and perhaps also from the families of the hostages, for whose return we all hope and work.

In the Israeli reality of our seventy-sixth year, personal and unit excellence is a necessity. It is the key to the existence of the State of Israel, which was established in the land of our ancestors as a home and refuge for the Jewish people. Our answer to our enemies on this Independence Day is clear: Israel is a unique wonder that we have established and built over seventy-six years, based on our historical right to live and thrive here, and it is a wonder that we will continue to develop for generations to come.
 

Thanks to outstanding soldiers like you, each in your unique and different way, we are confident that we will get to celebrate many more Independence Days here.

I will conclude with the words of the poet Talma Alyagon:
To the Land of the Deer, whose tears
fall on the sunflower field,
whose sorrow and joy
are the warp and weft of its daily garment.
 

Dear outstanding soldiers,

You are the joy in the fabric of our nation, and thanks to you, it is a colorful and strong tapestry. I bless you and your families, who watch you with pride, for your immense dedication and your contributions to the security of the state and the people of Israel.

Go forth and succeed!