Despite protest, Goldknopf refuses to step back from Memorial Day ceremony

Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf indicated Tuesday that he will attend a Memorial Day ceremony at Kiryat Gat’s military cemetery, dismissing an outcry from bereaved families in the city who oppose thepresence of a representative from the ultra-Orthodox community.

In a letter addressed to the Haredi politician, the families wrote: “We, several bereaved families from Kiryat Gat, ask you in every way possible not to attend the Memorial Day ceremony for IDF fallen soldiers in Kiryat Gat.”

They added, “We believe that someone representing groups in Israeli society who refuse to bear the burden of military service cannot stand before bereaved parents and speak on a day that is so sacred to us.”

Goldknopf, who chairs the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, has strongly opposed conscripting Haredi men into the IDF amid heightened tensions over the issue, in part due to the ongoing Gaza offensive.

The families wrote that they preferred that Goldknopf invest his time in “recruiting yeshiva students” rather than speak to bereaved families at the cemetery.

Close associates of Goldknopf told Channel 12 News that “no negotiations are underway to replace him” and that he fully intends to show up to the event.

Goldknopf was assigned to the Kiryat Gat cemetery last year too, sparking outrage among many bereaved families. Unlike this year, Goldknopf ultimately respected their wishes not to attend.

Haim Saadon, a signatory to the letter whose brother Avner was killed as a soldier in 1974, called on Goldknopf to skip the ceremony and have another minister attend in his stead.

“As a bereaved family, we feel that there is a moral and ethical offense to our feelings here,” said Saadon to Channel 12. “As soon as everyone enlists in the army, I’ll leave him be, but it cannot stand that someone who doesn’t enlist in the army should come and speak at the Memorial Day ceremony.”

The IDF has stated that it is facing a manpower shortage and currently needs some 12,000 new soldiers — 7,000 of whom would be combat troops.

Currently, approximately 70,000 Haredi men between the ages of 18 and 24 are eligible for military service and have not enlisted.

The High Court of Justice issued a provisional order on Sunday demanding the government explain its failure to issue enough conscription orders to ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students to meet the needs of the IDF, and its failure to enforce the orders it has issued.

The order instructed the government to explain those failures to the court in a written statement by June 24.