Cabinet approves national remembrance day for October 7 massacre, Gaza war
Annual memorial day to be observed on 24 Tishrei, with separate state ceremonies for fallen soldiers and civilians; this year to be marked on Oct. 7 as Hebrew date falls on Shabbat
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The cabinet on Sunday unanimously approved the observance of a national day of remembrance to commemorate the October 7 massacre and subsequent Gaza war, to be held every year on the 24th of the Hebrew month of Tishrei.
The annual memorial will be marked by two state ceremonies honoring the memory of the servicemen and women who fell in the ongoing war against Hamas and the civilians murdered during Hamas’s brutal incursion. It will be held separately from Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s memorial day, which is held on the 4th of Iyar.
Since the 24th of Tishrei falls on Shabbat this year, the first anniversary of the attack will be marked instead on its Gregorian date of October 7.
The idea of a day of remembrance was initiated with a Knesset bill by a mix of coalition and opposition lawmakers at the end of October.
Labor party MK Naama Lazimi, who helped spearhead the idea, said at the time that the October 7 massacre was “the hardest day the country has known and one of the hardest known by the Jewish people.”
“So many were murdered and lost their lives in the attack and the terrible disaster. Such a memorial day will give us all an opportunity to remember the murdered and hear the great stories of heroism of those who defended the country with their lives. I hope that the law will be widely accepted,” she said in a statement.
The unprecedented October 7 Hamas terror onslaught saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air, and sea, killing close to 1,200 people, most of them civilians slaughtered amid brutal atrocities, and seizing 253 hostages of all ages, around half of whom remain in captivity.
Israel launched an offensive in Gaza aimed at eliminating the terror group and bringing home the hostages, during which 249 soldiers have been killed in action.
Lawmakers are currently working on legislation to criminalize the denial, minimization, or celebration of the massacre.
On November 7, one month after the brutal incursion, Israel observed a national day of mourning for the victims with a minute of silence at 11 a.m. and ceremonies across the country.
The Times of Israel Community.