Families express relief as ultra-Orthodox minister stays away from memorial ceremony

Bereaved families at Kiryat Gat’s Memorial Day ceremony express relief after Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, canceled his planned attendance amid public outcry.

Galim Yaffa, whose two nephews fell in combat, says Goldknopf should never have been invited.

“It’s outrageous to send someone who danced to the words ‘We will die rather than enlist’ to a ceremony honoring fallen soldiers,” she says, referencing a widely circulated video from last month showing the minister dancing to an anti-Zionist, anti-IDF song.

Another bereaved family member, who asks to remain anonymous, says she was initially shocked that Goldknopf had been scheduled to attend.

“He needs to sit quietly wherever he is,” she said.

Upon hearing of the cancellation, she added, “If he had come, I wouldn’t have.”