"There is no substitute for continuity": Two bereaved families on the path to fulfilling their sons' last will
Two bereaved families, the Shahar family and the Harush family, received legal approval to use their fallen sons' sperm to bring children into the world. The Shahar family fought for 14 years; the Harush family began the process after their son fell in Gaza. The approval allows them to move forward in the search for a mother for the child, but the road to the birth of the children is still long.
Two bereaved families, Irit and Asher Shahar and Avi and Sigal Harush, received approval from the Family Court to use their fallen sons' sperm to bring children into the world. The Shahar family fought for 14 years since their son Omri, an IDF officer, was killed in a road accident in 2012. The Harush family began the process after their son Reef, an Egoz fighter, fell in battle in the Gaza Strip in April 2024, when he was 20. The legal approval was received after a prolonged struggle, but does not guarantee a birth. The Shahar family has already found a designated woman who nearly withdrew from the process after two and a half years of waiting. The Harush family is now preparing to search for a mother for the child. Both families face public criticism over the decision, but respond that they are acting according to their sons' wishes. The article notes that since October 7, 2023, sperm was taken posthumously from 271 people, among them 250 soldiers, and that in the absence of a regulating law, the families are required to obtain court approval.