Fractured Israeli society commemorates October 7
On the evening of Monday, October 7, some 40,000 people were supposed to gather in Tel Aviv to commemorate the worst massacre in the country’s history, to express their suffering, and to heal their wounds together. However, only 2,000 were authorized to attend the event by the Home Front Command (responsible for the protection of Israeli civilians and which prohibits mass gatherings). One year after October 7th, the war continues, prolonged and expanded: the offensive in Gaza is still not over, the Israeli army claimed to have thwarted a Hamas offensive earlier in the day, while the air force sent 100 fighter jets into the skies over Lebanon against Hezbollah, which for its part launched 190 projectiles against Israel. And Israelis are still waiting for their country to retaliate against Iran, which fired a salvo of 180 ballistic missiles on October 1.
At this alternative ceremony, organized by the families of the victims in opposition to the government ceremony, which featured pre-recorded messages to avoid disruption, Yigal Cohen, the father of Hadar Cohen, one of the lookouts assigned by the Israeli army to monitor Hamas activities who was killed on October 7, was quick to point out: „We will not leave, we will not forget and we will not grow weary. With our remaining forces, we will ensure that those responsible are held accountable for their actions.“
In the firing line is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s leading political figure, accused of allowing Hamas to exist in Gaza in order to divide the Palestinian national movement. Responsible for leading the war for the past year, he is seen as the main obstacle to a negotiated release of the hostages, while a majority of Israelis – 62%, according to a recent poll by the Israel Democratic Institute – want the return of the captives to be the war’s primary objective, against 29% who want the „destruction“ of Hamas to remain the priority.
A fractured nation
In his message during the government ceremony, Netanyahu did not deviate from his trajectory, using the collective „we“ to recall war aims that he had determined: „We have defined the objectives of the war and we are achieving them: to overthrow the Hamas regime; to bring all the hostages home, alive and dead – this is a sacred mission and we won’t stop until we’ve accomplished it; to eliminate any future threat to Israel from Gaza; and to bring the inhabitants of the south and north safely back to their homes.“ He went on to deliver a political message, directly addressed to the electorate that brought his coalition to power: „October 7th will symbolize, for generations to come, the price of our renewal and will demonstrate, for generations to come, how determined we are and how strong our spirit is. Together, we will fight on. And together, with God’s help, we will prevail.“
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https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/10/08/fractured-israeli-society-commemorates-october-7_6728604_4.html?rand=714
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