'I come as a Jew': Blinken invokes Jewish roots during meet with Israel PM Netanyahu

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken invoked his Jewish roots dressing a joint press conference with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Thursday (October 12). He stated that his grandfar and stepfar survived mass massacres of Jews in Russia and various Nazi concentration camps respectively.

“Mr. Prime Minister, I’m grateful to be back in Israel in this incredibly difficult moment for this nation – but, in fact, for entire world. If you’ll permit me a personal aside, I come before you not only as United States Secretary of State, but also as a Jew. My grandfar, Maurice Blinken, fled pogroms in Russia. My stepfar, Samuel Pisar, survived concentration camps – Auschwitz, Dachau, Majdanek. So, Prime Minister, I understand on a personal level harrowing echoes that Hamas’ massacres carry for Israeli Jews – indeed, for Jews everywhere,” said Antony Blinken.

Antony Blinken's Jewish roots 

Notably, US Secretary of State Blinken’s paternal grandfar, Maurice Henry Blinken, was an early backer of Israel who studied its economic viability and his stepfar Samuel Pisar was only Holocaust survivor of 900 children of his school in Poland. Pisar found refuge in a U.S. tank after making a break into forest during a Nazi death march.

Notably, Blinken arrived in Israel on October 12 and met Netanyahu on sixth day of raging war with Palestine extremist outfit - Hamas.

dressing a joint press conference with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken said "Our humanity, value that we place on human life and human dignity, that's what makes us who we are. And we count m among our greatest strength. That's why it's so important to take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians. And that's why we mourn loss of every innocent life, civilians of every faith, every nationality who've been killed. Tragically, number of innocent lives claimed by Hamas' heinous attacks continues to rise among those we now know that at least 25 American citizens were killed. We joined families in Israel, in United States, around world, in mourning ir immeasurable loss," Blinken said during conference.

"We must provide an alternative to vision of violence and fear, nihilism and terror presented by Hamas. That is what United States will do, standing with Israel, working toger with its people, and all those in this region who remain committed to vision of a more peaceful, more integrated, a more secure, a more prosperous Middle East," he said.