Ex-Mossad Chief: ‘Iranian Threat Is Moral Challenge, Not Just Strategic’

Friday, 2 May 2025 | A profound solemnity marked this year’s Memorial Day ceremony held in the capital’s Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem on Tuesday night in the wake of the hardships and heroism of the bereaved families of the fallen since the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. 

The heavy weight of the occasion was concretized in the faces of those who continued living without the towering, protective figures that left them behind. 

Twelve-year-old Ittai Hershberg recited a Kaddish prayer for his father, Lt. Col. Yochai Gur Hershberg, 52, who fell during reserve duty in Gaza on December 5, 2023. 

Australian-born Pessie Gordon lit a torch in memory of her husband, Staff Sgt. Naftali Yonah Gordon, 32, killed in battle in Gaza on December 7, 2023, also leaving two daughters behind, Libi and Gefen. 

Sigal Manzuri spoke in a brief panel about her two daughters, Roya, 25, and Norelle, 22, and Norelle’s fiancée, Amit Cohen, who were all murdered at the Nova music festival on October 7. 

Speeches were delivered by Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations; Larry A. Mizel, chairman of the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem; and Rabbi Marvin Hier, co-chair of the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem; as well as 30 foreign diplomats and other dignitaries. 

Also attending the ceremony was Yossi Cohen, former director of the Mossad and current president of the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization’s Friends Association, who spoke about his personal bereavement since the start of the war in Gaza 18 months ago. 

The former top intelligence officer did not pass up the opportunity to remind the audience of the country’s looming threat from the east. 

“Even as we gather here in mourning and remembrance, we must not forget that the threats to the State of Israel have not ceased,” he stated. 

“The Iranian threat is not just a strategic challenge, it is a moral one. It is a test of our unity, our resilience and our unwavering determination to defend our people and homeland,” said Cohen. 

“The State of Israel must do everything in its power—diplomatically, politically, and if necessary, operationally—to ensure that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons,” he continued, adding that such weapons pose an existential threat to “the very future of the Jewish state. 

“Just as our fallen stood bravely against danger, so, too, must we stand resolute against those who threaten the very existence of our nation.” 

‘You’re not alone’ 

More than 460 visitors sat quietly in the main theater of the museum in downtown Jerusalem. 

A shade of blue pierced through the large, dark hall, with a set of soft yellow lights illuminating the stage. Two white chairs and a white sofa huddled together in the center of the podium, endowing a sense of closeness behind the white flowers adorning the stage front. 

One of the chairs was left empty as a symbolic gesture to the fallen Israel Defense Forces heroes whose bodies are still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza. 

One of the most moving aspects of the ceremony was the screening of sensitively produced films portraying the personal stories of Israelis who have joined the community of bereaved families since October 7. 

In one interlude, 39 young women who were widowed in the Iron Swords War while pregnant were introduced on the screen. 

They thanked the “Letzidech” program, an initiative of the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization that provided emotional support, financial aid and hands-on guidance to help these women navigate pregnancy and childbirth in the shadow of their immense loss. 

The program is “amazing,” said Hagar Daniels Ozeri, widow of Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Yaakov Ozeri, 28, who was killed in battle on November 7, 2023, while she was 22 weeks pregnant with their firstborn daughter. But the initiative is also “terrible at the same time,” she commented. 

“I wanted my daughter to come out and see only the faces of people who love her and couldn’t wait to see her,” she continued. The midwives from Letzidech who accompanied her at birth “were so easygoing and sensitive. I had an amazing birth that would’ve been perfect if only [Yaakov] would have been there,” related the bereaved mother. 

“You’re not alone. You won’t give birth alone. They were simply with me … and they were amazing and brought me light,” said Meitar Eliyahu, a mother of three and widow of Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Yedidya Eliyahu, a 25-year-old combat engineer who was killed in action on November 3, 2023. 

“He always hugged me so hard I couldn’t breathe,” said Shosh Hobelashvili, who was pregnant with their second child when her husband, Maj. Avi Hobelashvili, 26, was killed on October 7, 2023. “That’s what I miss most, his embrace. A simple hug.” 

The cost of freedom 

The ceremony was the largest in Israel conducted entirely in English, intended for lone soldiers and English-speaking families. During the ceremony, the memory of Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror was honored, while paying homage to the 317 new IDF widows and 735 orphans since the Hamas-led assault on October 7, 2023. 

Former Mossad chief Cohen mentioned his two cousins who gave their lives since the start of the war: Elhanan Kalmanson, whose security role remains classified and who was killed on October 8, 2023, while voluntarily defending Gaza Envelope residents against the Hamas-led onslaught; and Lt. Pedayah Menachem Mark, 22, from Otniel, a Givati Brigade platoon commander who was killed in action in the northern Gaza Strip on October 31, 2023. 

“I stand before you not only as a member of the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization, but also as a bereaved family member; someone who personally knows the cost of our freedom,” Cohen said. 

“My beloved relatives, my cousins, Elhanan Kalmanson and Pedayah Mark, fell heroically during the Iron Swords War. Elhanan, who had served honorably for many years within Israel’s intelligence service, was killed while volunteering as a civilian to confront Hamas terrorists during the brutal attack on Kibbutz Be’eri [in southern Israel]. Pedayah, a courageous fighter in the Givati reconnaissance unit, fell during a fierce battle in Gaza, fighting with unwavering loyalty to his comrades, and with a heart full of love of his people and homeland,” he related. 

“Elhanan and Pedayah, may their memory be a blessing, were not only warriors; they were vibrant individuals filled with dreams and hope. Their loss is deeply personal, but their legacy belongs to the entire nation.” 

Noting 85 new widows and 163 orphans who joined the “ever-growing circle of grief” in the past year, Cohen said that “these numbers are not just statistics. They represent shattered families, broken futures, and hearts that will never fully heal. Each one deserves not only our remembrance but our ongoing support as well. At the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization, we are committed to standing by these families who must carry on despite unimaginable sorrow. 

The former intelligence chief went on to say that his cousins and many others who paid the ultimate price are urging the living “on and on, telling us to live lives worthy of their sacrifice; to transform grief into strength; to build a future of responsibility, unity that we need, and of course hope. 

“In their honor and in the honor of all the fallen heroes, we reaffirm our commitment to cherish life, to defend it, and to certify it.” 

Cohen also mentioned the 59 hostages—of which up to 24 are believed to be alive—still held captive by Hamas in Gaza, saying that their release must remain at the forefront of Israel’s collective consciousness. 

“We owe it to them, to their families, and to the very values for which our fallen heroes sacrificed their lives.” 

‘Illuminating power of truth’ 

This was the third year of collaboration between the Museum of Tolerance and the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization. The museum’s chairman, Mizel, and co-founder, Hier, came to Israel especially for the ceremony. 

Delivering the first speech of the night, Mizel said that the event was “created for the English-speaking community so that you too can fully take part in this national moment of reflection. 

“This moment is shared not only by those who are here, but by the communities watching around the world. In this darkness, our unity matters more than ever. Though I may live in Denver, my heart and much of my philanthropic work is firmly rooted here,” he related. 

Mizel went on to say, “Since October 7, more than 600 IDF soldiers have given their lives. Thousands more have been wounded. Families shattered. Futures cut short. And yet, even in the shadow of such loss, hope endures.” 

He spoke of the lone soldiers who come to serve in the IDF from abroad, their acts of courage reminding “us that the Jewish people are one family—am echad—no matter where we live.” 

Speaking of the museum’s role, Mizel said that unlike other museums that preserve the past, “the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem is rooted in the present, deeply committed to shaping a more hopeful future. This museum stands as a lighthouse of human dignity, a space for healing, dialogue and understanding. Its soaring ceilings and architecture bathed in natural light reflect its core values: openness and transparency, and the illuminating power of truth.” 

He added that “it is the ideal setting for the critical and courageous conversations our society so desperately needs.” 

The chairman ended on a note of hope, encouraging the audience to “carry forward the memory of the fallen, not only in silence but in purpose. Let us turn our sorrow into unity and our unity into strength. May their memories be a blessing, and may the future we build together be one of peace.” 

Israel’s enemies ‘will always fail’ 

In his speech, Danon described the deadliest single-day attack in the Jewish state’s history on October 7 as the “darkest evil of our generation.” 

He said it was “a deliberate attempt to break our people. To murder our loved ones. To shatter our spirit. To destroy everything we have built. But they failed. They will always fail.” 

Danon vowed that Israel will continue to fight “with everything we have” to bring the remaining 59 abductees in Gaza back home. 

“We will not rest, we will not be silent, we will bring them home; all of them. This is why Yom HaZikaron this year carries an even heavier weight. Because the dangers our loved ones gave their lives to defeat are still here, around us. The pain continues,” the diplomat said. 

He mentioned his father, Joseph Danon, who sustained a severe head wound while combating terrorists in the Jordan valley during his reserve duty in 1969, two years before the ambassador was born. Danon’s father ultimately died of complications related to his injury when he was 22. 

“I grew up knowing exactly what the price for our existence was,” Danon stressed. “I knew that the ability to live freely as a Jew in the land of our people was not something we could ever take for granted. It was paid for in blood, in grief and in life.” 

The ambassador went on to say that “we pray for peace. We dream of a day when our children will not have to wear uniforms and carry rifles to defend their right to live. But we face reality with clear eyes. 

“To the families here tonight, your pain is seen. Your courage is honored. You show the world that although the Jewish people may bleed, we do not break. … Our people will live, our enemies will fall. We will carry the pain, we will carry [the fallen’s] memory, and we will carry our flag for good.” 

In memory of the fallen … 

Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism began on Tuesday evening and continued through Wednesday until the closing ceremony. The day honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the country’s existence and security. 

According to figures released by the Defense Ministry last week, 25,417 servicemen and women have died in defense of the Jewish people and the struggle to reestablish the state since 1860.