After criticism, UTJ members cancel appearances at Memorial Day ceremonies

After strong protests against their planned participation in Memorial Day ceremonies, Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf and a fellow member of his United Torah Judaism party announce that they won’t take part in the events.

Goldknopf and deputy minister Ya’akov Tessler will skip the ceremonies in Kiryat Gat and Be’er Tuvia, respectively, after widespread denunciation of the planned addresses to relatives of fallen IDF soldiers by Haredi politicians who haven’t served in the army.

In a statement, Goldknopf says that while he wanted to respect the fallen, he has learned that “there are bereaved families who may be made to feel uncomfortable by this,” adding that he prefers “not to harm their feelings.”

He says that during the ceremonies, he and Tessler will go to the Western Wall to recite Psalms biblical verses in memory of the souls of the fallen.

The development comes amid severe tensions over the government’s planned judicial overhaul, with protests likely against other ministers as well.