Bereaved families ask ministers, MKs to refrain from speaking at Memorial Day ceremonies

Supporters of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir scuffle with a bereaved man (C) at the military cemetery in Beersheba on April 25, 2023, amid commemorations of Memorial Day for fallen soldiers. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)
Supporters of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir scuffle with a bereaved man (C) at the military cemetery in Beersheba on April 25, 2023, amid commemorations of Memorial Day for fallen soldiers. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)

Hundreds of bereaved family members send a letter to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant asking him to prevent ministers and MKs from speaking at Memorial Day ceremonies to be held next week, the Haaretz daily reports

The call comes on the day that the Knesset published a list of ministers and MKs who will take part in the ceremonies to be held at military cemeteries. This year is particularly sensitive in the wake of the October 7 Hamas onslaught and the ensuing Gaza offensive and with over a hundred hostages still held in Gaza.

“Let us commune with our loved ones without turning cemeteries into a political arena,” Eyal Eshel, whose daughter Roni was killed at her base on the Gaza border on October 7, tells Haaretz.

In the letter to Gallant, the families warn there may be scenarios in which politicians are forced to leave ceremonies and other families stay away.

Gallant has yet to reply.

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