From the Liveblog of
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Father of Oct. 7 victim: State inquiry of ‘holocaust in heart of the country’ should have been self-evident
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About 2,000 people gather at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square for a demonstration organized by the October Council of families of victims of the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, who are demanding a state commission of inquiry.
The demonstration comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Monday his opposition to such a committee because it is formed by the judiciary, which he claims the public doesn’t trust, despite repeated opinion polls showing the opposite.
The Hamas onslaught was “not just an attack, it was a Holocaust in the heart of the country,” says Rafi Ben Shitrit, whose son Elroi was killed in the onslaught. “Out of the ashes, we must rise up and demand the one thing we thought was self-evident: a deep, thorough investigation of the procedures, of the debacle.”
Disparate anti-government causes are represented in the crowd, from protesters demanding the military enlistment of Haredi men, through activists against the government’s judicial overhaul, and left-wing activists waving signs with condemnatory slogans about “occupation” and “settler violence.” A man bearing a shirt of Brother in Arms, a pro-enlistment reservist protest group, and a woman from one of the left-wing clusters get into a shouting match over whether the left-wing protesters belong here.
“They need to send the same message” as the other protesters, says the man. “We have to unite the struggles,” the woman replies.
Several people bear shirts and signs of The Democrats. Other political parties do not appear to be represented.
The Times of Israel Community.