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Sunday, October 13, 2024
Government approves 2nd national day of mourning for Oct. 7, marking attack on Hebrew calendar date
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The cabinet approves a second national day of mourning for the October 7 attack in accordance with the Hebrew calendar, which will be marked with a state ceremony organized by Transportation Minister Miri Regev.
The additional day of mourning will be held on the 25th of the Hebrew month of Tishrei (October 27-28), three days after the annual Simchat Torah holiday on which the Hamas attack took place last year.
According to Hebrew media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and other senior dignitaries will participate in the ceremony, only weeks after the nation first marked the first anniversary of the attack.
The second official day of mourning will also be marked by special programs at schools and in the military, the lowering of flags to half staff and the closure of entertainment venues.
Families of hostages and other October 7 victims had strongly objected to Regev’s appointment to oversee this past week’s official state ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Hamas-led onslaught, with several Gaza border communities accusing the government of using the official ceremony as a fig leaf to avoid responsibility for its role in failing to prevent the terror massacres, and for not doing enough for the communities in the aftermath.
The Times of Israel Community.