Gevura Forum Against the Ceremony in Yarkon Park: "Mamlachtiyut Is Not a Recommendation"

The Gevura Forum, which unites hundreds of bereaved families, announced its firm opposition to holding the memorial ceremony of the "Kumu" movement in Yarkon Park in its current format. The forum warns against misleading the public and harming national unity, and calls for uniting only around the official state ceremonies.

The Gevura Forum, which unites hundreds of bereaved families of IDF and security forces soldiers who fell in the Swords of Iron War, announced today (Wednesday) its firm opposition to holding the memorial ceremony of the "Kumu" movement in Yarkon Park in its current format. The forum came out strongly against the attempt to present the private event as a "national ceremony," and emphasized that it harms the general public and the bereaved families. In the official statement, under the title "Mamlachtiyut Is Not a Recommendation – Avoid Misleading the Public," it was noted that many bereaved families yearn for comfort and a sense of national unity, and any attempt to use their name or pain to grant a private event official status must be avoided. The forum called on the public and various bodies to refrain from holding the ceremony and participating in it, out of concern that the event could deepen divisions and polarize the people precisely on a day requiring unity. This position joins sharp criticism from additional bereaved families and former hostage Rom Breslavsky, who claimed that the event does not represent them and that representatives who sought to speak at it were excluded.