Gallant stands in silence as bereaved Nir Oz grandmother demands: ‘Where were you?’
Defense minister listens for long minutes as tearful Reuma Kedem, who lost daughter, grandkids on October 7, vows officials in Israel’s ‘corrupt government’ will pay ‘big time’

A chance encounter in Kibbutz Nir Oz turned into an emotional confrontation on Wednesday after a woman who lost her daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren during Hamas’s murderous onslaught in Israel on October 7 was approached by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as they both visited the kibbutz.
In moments aired by Channel 12, Reuma Kedem asked Gallant in a shaky, tearful voice that at first reached barely above a whisper, “Where were you on [October 7]?”
Kedem lost her daughter Tamar Kedem Siman Tov, son-in-law Yonatan (Johnny) Siman Tov, their six-year-old twins Arbel and Shachar and two-year-old Omer during the rampage in the kibbutz, one of the hardest hit communities on October 7, when thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel and massacred 1,200 people — mostly civilians in their homes and at an outdoors music festival. Another 240 were taken hostage.
The family was murdered in their home’s safe room, along with Jonathan’s mother, Carol Siman Tov. The house was then set on fire.
Kedem, now a bereaved mother and grandmother, was visiting the destroyed home on Wednesday to collect tokens of remembrance. At the same time, Gallant was on an official visit to the kibbutz when he saw Kedem and approached her, shaking her hand and laying a hand on her shoulder.
Footage of the meeting showed Kedem standing in silence for a few seconds, wordlessly gesticulating at Gallant, before she began to speak, haltingly and in whispers that slowly gained strength, though she never raised her voice, as she repeatedly attacked the government that had failed her and her loved ones.
Gallant stood and listened, without responding, for long minutes.
סרטון אחד שכל אזרח במדינה חייב לראות. ראומה קדם עם דברים שיוצאים מהלב. התפרקתי לרסיסים. pic.twitter.com/7bypeNDlD5
— איציק אלרוב | Itzik Elrov ???????? (@itzikelrov) January 10, 2024
“What is this?” she asked. “My heart has been torn apart. Where were you [on October 7]?”
Kedem said one phone call the evening before Hamas’s unprecedented attack warning residents of southern Israel of what was to come would have been enough to save the victims of the attack.
“Tamar would have left after one phone call,” she told Gallant repeatedly.
“How long? How long will we be silent?” she said. “My heart is gone. My heart was burned away.”
Kedem blamed members of what she called the “corrupt government” for the lack of warning for civilians, promising Gallant that the leadership would pay.
“What are you doing? Rotten government. What are you doing?” she said. “Whoever needs to pay, will pay big time. This wasn’t fate. These were people who did not do their jobs.”

“The day will come for every minister,” she said.
Throughout the interaction, Gallant looked at Kedem and did not respond, only once interrupting to say: “I’m listening to you.”
Gallant is not the first member of Israel’s government to be confronted by southern residents and their families who were affected by the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas.
On October 11, Economy Minister Nir Barkat and Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman visited wounded victims of October 7 in hospitals but were not welcomed by the families of the victims.
Civilians in Sheba Medical Center confronted Barkat, demanding that he and the rest of the government “get down on their knees” and apologize to Israel. One man added that they all had to resign.

At the entrance to Shamir Medical Center, Silman was driven off by civilians who told her the government was responsible for the attack and that the ministers needed to go home. In a video from the scene, Silman could be seen trying to speak to one of the women who was shouting at her before giving up and walking away.
A day later, Transportation Minister Miri Regev visited Sheba where she was faced with a civilian who had to be held back by bodyguards as he hurled accusations at her as she sat in her car. When the driver started moving, the man threw a full cup of coffee at the car.