Bereaved families expressed opposition to the decision to hold a state ceremony to mark the anniversary of the October 7 event, led by Transportation Minister Miri Regev. In Kibbutz Nirim they informed the state that they are not ready for the ceremony to be filmed in their kibbutz and yesterday (Sunday) they even asked the production representatives, who came to check if filming could be done there, to leave the place. Kibbutz Nir Oz reported: “We have been abandoned, we will not be extras at a political ceremony.”
“Instead of engaging in filming for a state memorial ceremony, we call on the government to establish a state commission of inquiry,” they said on behalf of the kibbutz from which 5 residents were kidnapped on October 7 and at least 5 more were murdered, “for a whole year not even one representative of the government came to Nirim to take responsibility, admit the omission and ask The lives of the members of Kibbutz Nirim and of all the residents of the Western Negev are not a movie, and the Israeli government is not a production company.”
“No commemorative ceremony led by the government will make up for the failure of Shiva in October that resulted in the murder and kidnapping of members of Kibbutz Nirim and the entire surrounding area, who are still being held captive by Hamas,” they said. From conversations we conducted with representatives of various kibbutzim in the Gaza Envelope, it appears that Kibbutz Nirim will not be the only one in refusing to cooperate with the ceremony, which will take place without an audience, with segments that will be filmed beforehand in a sterile environment.
Kibbutz Nir Oz, a quarter of whose population was abducted or murdered on Black Sabbath, also announced that they would boycott the ceremony and sent a sharp message: “We refuse to cooperate with a political ceremony that will be conducted by the government. Those who led to a complete breakdown of trust – will not be able to obscure it through ceremonies and use us as extras. Today we are burying people who were kidnapped alive, and murdered in captivity. People that the government could have saved – and again it failed.”
Dozens of families even sent a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu and demanded that he cancel the ceremony. “We will not allow those who caused the most horrifying massacre in the country’s history to produce a propaganda event at our expense and at the expense of the lives of our loved ones,” the announcement reads, “an event devoid of basic integrity that dares to deal with a disaster without taking responsibility for it. An event that seeks to shape a national memory while some of our families are still alive, suffering To the rescue and while the bodies of our loved ones are still lying in the Hamas tunnels.”
The head of the opposition, Yair Lapid, commented on the decision to produce the event and claimed that he would not participate in “Miri Regev’s ceremony”. “I will be with the families of those murdered in Bari and Sderot and Nir Oz,” he wrote in a message on his behalf, “this government is not legitimate and does not deserve their memory. The only ceremony that the Netanyahu government and the extremists can and should do is resignation and the announcement of the establishment of a state commission of inquiry.”
Following the government’s decision to appoint Minister Miri Regev, the leaders of the “Como” movement, founded by the residents of the south and the north together with the families of victims and victims, announced their intention to independently organize the main memorial event for October 7, through crowdfunding.
Yesterday, the government approved the appointment of Transport Minister Miri Regev as “Minister in charge of the state ceremony to mark the one year anniversary of the terrible massacre, which took place on Saturday, October 2023”. In March, the government determined that a national day of remembrance for the disaster that befell the State of Israel on October 7 and the Iron Swords War would be celebrated every year on the 24th of Tishrei, two days after Simchat Torah, but that the ceremony would be held only once in the first year on October 7. It is not clear what prevented the government from to determine that the foreign date, identified in Israel and the world with the war, will be the day on which the Day of Mourning will be observed regularly.
Upon confirming her appointment, Minister Regev said that just as she led the beacon ceremony in the shadow of the war, “with all the required sensitivity”, she intends to lead the ceremony on October 7th. “We are in a difficult, painful and complex reality, where 115 abductees are still in captivity in Gaza, many are still being evacuated from their homes and the war is still in progress. Therefore, we will conduct the ceremony with sensitivity and responsibility and bring to light the memory, heroism and hope,” said Regev.
From the alternative beacon ceremony to the ceremony held by Miri Regev for the 76th Independence Day of the State of Israel
Regev’s appointment drew angry reactions among bereaved families and residents of the surrounding area. “Letting Miri Regev be in charge of the 7/10 ceremony is like letting Nasrallah lay a cornerstone in honor of a new settlement in the north,” wrote Yonatan Shamriz, the brother of Alon Shamriz who was kidnapped from his home in Gaza City and accidentally shot by IDF soldiers when he managed to escape his captors. This ceremony is because of you! You are so much offside that you have no idea. A disgrace to those who perished, a disgrace to all of us.”
Eyal Eshel, the father of the observer Roni Eshel who was burned to death at the Nahal Oz base, also called not to cooperate with the ceremony in its current form: “A government that does not establish a state commission of inquiry, has no right to appoint ministers to produce ceremonies. I call on Sarah Miri Regev from here, do not use the Nahal Oz cemetery, the place of death of Roni and her friends, as a setting for the disconnected ceremony. First an investigative committee, then ceremonies.”
The chairman of the state camp, Benny Gantz, also opposed the appointment: “In a government that recognizes its responsibility for the disaster for which it bears responsibility, the minister of transportation would never have been tasked with conducting the state memorial ceremony for October 7, but the minister of culture, who would have established a joint steering committee with The envelope and the bereaved families”.
“In a government that recognizes the magnitude of the pain and loss, the Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Heritage would not dare to argue about credit regarding the October Seventh anniversary ceremonies,” Gantz added. “In a government that had some integrity, they would make sure that by the seventh of October 2024, the year of the disaster, elections would be held, and trust would be restored between the people and their elected officials. In this government – there is no acceptance of responsibility, no understanding of pain and loss, no integrity, and probably no shame either.”
The formation’s response to ceremonies and state events: “In light of the rumors and incorrect publications about the location of the ceremony on October 7th, we would like to clarify that until this moment it has not been decided where the ceremony will take place. The production company has been touring locations in the south this past week with the aim of offering places for the ceremony. The production company has not been expelled from any location and has not committed to anyone The location of the ceremony but alternatives. It will be emphasized that we respect the feelings of all the communities. The ceremony will be produced with all the necessary sensitivity at this time.
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