On the Eve of Tisha B’Av, Netanyahu Pledges to Deepen National Unity

by | Jul 22, 2026 | News

As Israelis prepared to begin the Tisha B’Av fast, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video message invoking the destruction of the Temple and pledging to deepen national unity at a moment of political and military strain.

On the eve of Tisha B’Av, we remember the destruction of the Temple, he said. We remember the terrible price of hatred and division among ourselves. Over the past three years, he continued, through combined efforts, Israelis had prevented the destruction of what he called the Third Temple, meaning the modern Jewish state. Instead of a civil war, he said, Israelis became brothers fighting shoulder to shoulder against those who seek their destruction, joining forces, fighting like lions, and together saving Israel.

The remarks came a day after President Isaac Herzog issued a warning of his own, cautioning that violence was rearing its head and pleading with Israelis not to cross red lines during the election campaign now underway. With the Knesset dissolved and a national vote set for October 27, both leaders appeared to be addressing the same anxiety: that a bitterly contested campaign, layered atop nearly three years of war, could tear at the country’s internal fabric.

Tisha B’Av marks the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem along with a long list of calamities across Jewish history. Tradition holds that the Second Temple fell because of baseless hatred among Jews, a teaching that has made the fast a natural occasion for calls to unity, and a pointed one when division runs deep.

Ahead of the fast, worshippers and visitors gathered at the Western Wall in large numbers. Police and Border Guard units prepared both overt and covert deployments in the Old City, including special units, to allow rapid response to any unusual incidents during a period that historically draws heightened tensions around the holy sites.

The moment arrives with Israel still under a prolonged state of emergency, war continuing between the United States and Iran, operations ongoing in Lebanon and Gaza, and unresolved questions about accountability for October 7. For many Israelis marking the day, the ancient warning about internal division will feel less like history than like a live question.

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