Right-wing bereaved families: We were excluded from the Yarkon Park ceremony

Hundreds of bereaved families from the October 7 massacre, represented by the "Din VeTzedek" forum, claim they were excluded from the memorial ceremony at Yarkon Park due to their demand for an equitable state commission of inquiry. The forum alleges that the ceremony organizers did not contact them and did not allow their representatives to speak, calling the event "one-sided political." The families will hold an alternative ceremony at the Nova complex in Re'im.

Hundreds of bereaved families from the October 7 massacre, represented by the "Din VeTzedek" forum, criticized the organizers of the memorial ceremony at Yarkon Park today (Wednesday) and claimed they were excluded due to their positions. According to them, forum representatives were not invited to speak at the event, even though its organizers present it as a national ceremony. The forum's statement read: "We strongly protest being treated as second-class bereavement." The families claim the reason for their exclusion is their demand for the establishment of an "equitable and independent" state commission of inquiry, to be composed equally by the coalition and opposition, with participation from representatives of bereaved families and hostage families. They compared their proposal to the commission established in the United States after the September 11 attacks. The families called on media outlets to cover the alternative ceremony to be held at the Nova complex in Re'im, where they will be allowed to speak. Former hostage Rom Braslavski also joined the criticism, claiming that the ceremony organizers refused his request to speak and commemorate his security team members who were killed at the Nova party. Yesterday, bereaved mother Galia Hushan criticized the ceremony in an interview with C14, calling it "anti-national."