Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Friday, May 31, 2024
From the Liveblog of
Friday, May 31, 2024
Netanyahu bars bereaved father who criticized him from participating in state ceremony; Gantz: ‘An unprecedented low’
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Shai Hermesh at the ruins of his home in Kfar Aza after Hamas's October 7, 2023, terror onslaught. (Courtesy)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office blocked a former IDF soldier who fought to liberate Jerusalem in 1967 and recently lost his son in the October 7 terror onslaught from participating in an upcoming Jerusalem Day ceremony because he had previously written an op-ed criticizing the Israeli premier, Hebrew media reports
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz rips into the decision, calling it “an unprecedented low.”
“I urge you to call him, apologize and inform him that he will lead the memorial prayer at the ceremony,” Gantz tweets. “Bringing political considerations into bereavement dismantles the most sacred foundations of Israeli society.”
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