Jerusalem, 20 October, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal on Monday hosted a Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebration for 45 children who lost parents serving in the Israel Defense Forces. The annual ceremony, held at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, marked the children’s coming of age in Jewish tradition.
During the event, Herzog completed the final letter of a Torah scroll written by the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization, and offered words of encouragement. “Your fathers fell while serving the State of Israel, and there is no higher goal than that,” he said.
In the past year, more than 1,600 people have been added to Israel’s community of the bereaved, including over 163 orphans.