Families of October 7 victims, in collaboration with the Kumu movement, have decided to organize the main memorial event on October 7, 2024, independently through crowdfunding and will not participate in the Transportation Minister Miri Regev-led event, they announced Monday.
"We will ensure that October 7 is commemorated in an honest and humane way, without disguises or distortions. Together, we will remember the loss, the heroism, and the failures," families of October 7 victims said in a statement following the announcement that Regev will be leading the October 7 memorial ceremony.
The Kumu movement was founded by residents of the North and South with families of October 7 victims and intends to dedicate the anniversary of October 7 to all those who were murdered, taken hostage, or fell in combat, as well as those who lost their loved ones and homes on October 7.
"We will not allow our loved ones to be commemorated in a staged and artificial memorial event, under the supervision of cynical politicians who shirk responsibility," Yonatan Shamriz, brother of late Alon Shamriz and one of the organizers of Kumu said. "Together with all of Israel, we will ensure that our family members receive the honor they deserve," he said. Alon Shamriz was one of the Gaza hostages mistakenly killed by IDF soldiers in December.
Kibbutz Nirim informed the state that they are not ready for the Transportation Minister Miri Regev-led ceremony to mark the anniversary of October 7 to be filmed at their kibbutz, N12 reported Monday evening.
On Sunday, production teams visited the kibbutz to see if filming was possible; however, kibbutz representatives asked them to leave.
"Instead of engaging in filming for a state memorial ceremony, we call on the government to establish a state commission of inquiry," the kibbutz said.
"In a whole year, not a single government representative came to Nirim to take responsibility, acknowledge the failure, or ask what is needed. The lives of Kibbutz Nirim members and all the residents of the western Negev are not a movie, and the Israeli government is not a production company."
Yehuda, the father of abductee Nimrod Cohen, said, "I don't want them to memorialize my son; he is alive. There is no reason why the most unstatesman-like minister in the government should be in charge of the ceremony."
יהודה, אביו של החטוף נמרוד כהן, על טקס 7 באוקטובר: "לא רוצה שינציחו את בני, הוא חי. אין סיבה שהשרה הכי לא ממלכתית בממשלה אחראית לטקס"@YoavBorowitz pic.twitter.com/4qX5q1kqdD
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 19, 2024
Organized ceremony will include public participation
According to the organizers, the content of the main ceremony will be shaped by representatives of families directly impacted by October 7, and will include public participation.
The organizers invited all interested family members to participate in shaping the ceremony and to contact them via email through Yonatan Shamriz.
Opposition leader and Yesh Atid chief Yair Lapid also announced Monday evening that he will not participate in "Miri Regev's October 7th commemoration ceremony."
He stated, "I will be with the families of the victims from Be'eri, Sderot, and Nir Oz. This government is neither legitimate nor worthy of their memory. The only ceremony that Netanyahu's extremist government can and should hold is one where they resign and announce the formation of a state commission of inquiry."