Israeli-Gaza border communities reject Oct 7 state memorial planned due to outrage at government

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Israeli residents of the border communities near Gaza have decisively rejected the government's plans for a memorial ceremony on Oct. 7, opting to organize their own ceremony instead.

Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev has been responsible for many state events in the past, but her new task to organize a memorial for those who suffered the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, last year has infuriated most of the local residents.

Even so, Regev has refused to abandon the plans, saying, "I ignore the noises – I will continue to organize the ceremony."

This is not the first time Regev has been subject to public outrage and attacks following the events of Oct. 7. The Israeli government and defense establishment have received significant criticism for its handling of the hostage crisis and the failure to prevent such an attack from happening in the first place.

"I understand the feelings of those who are angry with us, the government, the army and the security forces. There was a big oversight and I also have difficult questions. We must set up an investigative committee," said Regev.

Emotions have been as raw as they were last October, as residents are reportedly planning their own ceremony for Oct. 7.

Channel 12 news reported that a letter signed by dozens of families of the victims was addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asking for the government event to be canceled.

“We won’t allow those who caused the most brutal massacre in the nation’s history to put on a propaganda event at the expense of the lives of our loved ones,” the letter stated.

With many of their family members still held hostage in Gaza, the letter expressed the families' despair: “The event seeks to mold national remembrance at a time when some of our relatives are still alive, yearning for salvation, and as the bodies of our loved ones are still lying in Hamas tunnels.”

According to the Times of Israel, the brother of hostage Tal Shoham, Mor Korngold, called the ceremony “ridiculous” and told the Walla news site it is “not marking anything; my brother is still there.”

Other family members, such as Einav Zangauker and Yehuda Cohen, strongly objected to the hostages being mentioned or highlighted by a government-led memorial ceremony. Plans to arrange a separate ceremony are currently moving forward.

The Israeli government's memorial ceremony will be conducted without an audience and televised.

Responding to Regev’s dismissal of the angry voices as “noises” that she plans to ignore, the families told Israel National News: "The background noise that Minister Regev spoke about is us."

"Bereaved families, residents of the Gaza surrounding region and the North, the reservists who paid and are paying a heavy price for the events of October 7th," they continued. "Minister Regev showed a complete divide between the government's decision to produce an engineered and a disconnected ceremony costing millions of shekels, that will be filmed and edited in advance."

Former Israeli Knesset Speaker Miki Levy of the Yesh Atid party rebuked Regev for her statement.

"Miri, it's not noise. This is a cry of pain for the biggest disaster that has happened to us since the establishment of the state. The disaster that happened on the watch of your government and that you ignore. Sorry, keep ignoring. This is a great shame."