Amid Oct. 7 anniversary memorial fracas, pair of coalition members back compromise proposal

Two coalition members back a proposal for the government to take a “unifying” step and make sure the its October 7 anniversary memorial doesn’t clash with an alternative ceremony organized by hostage families and set to be attended by tens of thousands of people.

The issue has emerged as highly divisive, with most Gaza border towns and hostage families refusing to cooperate with the ceremony organized by a government they accuse of significant failures before, on and since the Hamas onslaught. That ceremony will be pre-recorded and feature no audience.

Prominent columnist and author Hanoch Daum, who will emcee the families’ memorial, lays out his “proposal for calming the spirits” on his popular Facebook page. He says the two events should not come at one another’s expense, and that the government should therefore agree to broadcast its ceremony at a time that don’t coincide with the second one.

Shortly after Daum’s post, Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot tweets that he supports that proposal out of a need to lower the flames and avoid scrapping either event.

Likud MK Dan Illouz echoes that sentiment, tweeting that while the government must not be stripped of the right to organize the state event, it has a duty to display sensitivity, especially toward bereaved families.