Israel to hold annual commemoration of October 7 events amid deep divisions – opinion

SUSAN HATTIS ROLEF

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TRANSPORTATION MINISTER Miri Regev holds a news conference to address the issue of the planned state ceremony commemorating the October 7 massacre, and the controversy surrounding it, in Jerusalem last week. / (photo credit: CHAIM GOLDBEG/FLASH90)

Transcending the many issues of bitter contention in Israel these days is the government’s March 17 decision to hold an annual national commemoration of the events of October 7 and the Swords of Iron Operation. This year, the commemoration will be held on October 7; thereafter, it will take place on 24 Tishrei (or the following day, if the 24th is on a Shabbat) – two days after Simchat Torah.

The government decision mentions that those responsible for organizing the event are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who is responsible for organizing national events; the Defense Ministry; and those in charge of national ceremonies and events in the Prime Minister’s Office.

It was decided that the ceremony to commemorate the fallen soldiers in the war would take place at 11 a.m., while the ceremony to commemorate civilians slain on October 7, at 1 p.m. No other details were provided regarding the ceremonies and accompanying events.

Clearly, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to separate politics from the need or desire to commemorate the events since Hamas’s mega-atrocity.

We all agree that the events since October 7 began with a cruel, unprovoked, murderous attack by Hamas on Israeli areas adjacent to the Gaza Strip, which resulted in 1,200 people of all ages being mercilessly butchered; some 250 abducted as hostages and 80,000 removed from their homes around the Gaza Strip and along the border with Lebanon, for safety reasons.

Miri Regev arrives to a special government conference on Jerusalem Day, on June 5, 2024 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

There is also a consensus that Israel had no alternative but to retaliate, not out of feelings of revenge, but because of our right to defend ourselves and prevent a future repetition of the events of October 7. But apart from the technical aspects of the commemoration ceremonies – the sirens, standing at attention, not holding festivities, possibly closing eateries – that consensus ends.

Some believe that the heads of the security forces and political leaders hold equal responsibility for the catastrophic events of October 7 and that they should resign or be removed as soon as practicable. Others believe that the sole culprits are the security forces and that those on the political level are free of blame. These include Netanyahu and Regev.

There are those who believe that the situation requires new elections immediately, which would likely result in a change of government. Others believe that as long as the war continues, in one form or another, new elections should not take place. Many of these (including, some say, the prime minister, though he has denied it) are also willing to prolong the war precisely to avoid elections for as long as possible.

While most Israelis desire a decisive victory over Hamas, many also believe that it is vital to bring back the remaining 109 hostages – 36 of whom are determined to be dead, at almost any price, before all of them die or are killed – and temporarily ending the war and enabling Hamas to survive a little longer.

IN FACT, IT is impossible to form a single narrative about the events of October 7, and the ensuing war, that will satisfy everyone. I doubt if we will ever agree on a single narrative, but certainly not before the current situation is resolved or at least assuaged, enabling us to at least return to a semblance of normalcy.

The effects of October 7.

However, the depression and post-trauma – both among the civilian population directly affected by the events of October 7 and what followed, and among those who engaged in battle – are going to linger for many years. For them, normalcy is an almost unachievable goal. Furthermore, in the absence of a solution to the Palestinian problem, normalcy will never be achieved.

Another obvious difficulty is that many of the October 7 victims are unwilling to have anything to do with any official events organized by the government. Though the southern cities of Sderot and Ofakim, in which massacres took place on October 7, and from which hostages were abducted, are willing to collaborate with the government over the commemoration ceremonies, all the kibbutzim from the Gaza border communities that experienced the same fate (only in larger proportions) are not; nor is the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

The contempt, disregard, and even neglect that the kibbutzim have experienced from the government in general, and the prime minister and transportation minister in particular, have also created an attitude of “we want neither your honey nor your sting.” The families of those killed in the Supernova music festival, and the survivors, are also feeling despondent for the same reasons.

Regev, in a voice full of contempt, compared the initiatives for alternative October 7 commemoration ceremonies to those organized by Israeli and Palestinian families every Remembrance Day. She apparently views alternative ceremonies as a form of treason.

The protests of the hostages’ families against Netanyahu’s failure to do everything to bring their loved ones back as soon as possible, before they all perish, and the objection of many groups and individuals to the ceremonies being planned by the government for October 7, have been referred to by Regev as “background noises.” She added that this “noise” will not deter her from organizing a filmed national ceremony, without a live audience, and with a prerecorded address by the prime minister.

President Isaac Herzog has offered to help unravel the mess and hold a live commemoration ceremony at his residence, though the chances of this happening are low. Even if Netanyahu and Regev accept this offer, they are unlikely to keep their hands off the narrative that would accompany the ceremony.

Trying to bring about at least a modicum of unity and consensus within the Israeli population does not seem to be on either Netanyahu’s or Regev’s agendas.

The writer worked in the Knesset for many years as a researcher, and has published extensively both journalistic and academic articles on current affairs and Israeli politics. Her most recent book, Israel’s Knesset Members: A Comparative Study of an Undefined Job, was published by Routledge. 

Israel attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon, preempting ‘extensive attack’

update desk | Israel at War

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An Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter jet takes off from the Ovda Airbase in southern Israel, Nov. 25, 2013. Photo by Ofer Zidon/Flash90.

The Israeli military attacked sites preemptively in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah planned to launch rockets and missiles at Israel in an “extensive attack,” early in the morning on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Hezbollah subsequently launched more than 150 projectiles at the Jewish state from Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces stated. “We target terrorist infrastructure, they target civilians,” it said.

“Israel’s preemptive attack was aimed at missile launchers in Lebanon that had been programmed to be fired at 5 a.m. in the direction of Tel Aviv,” the New York Times reported, citing a western intelligence official, who “said that all the launchers that were targeted were destroyed and that Israel was anticipating a harsh response from Hezbollah.”

Israel’s strike followed “more than 6,700 rockets, missiles and explosive (drones) fired by Hezbollah at Israeli families, homes and communities since Oct. 8,” IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari stated.

Israel could see that Hezbollah was about to launch an “extensive attack” on the Jewish state, endangering the Lebanese civilians among whom the terror group embeds its weapons, Hagari added.

He told Lebanese civilians to vacate the areas in which Hezbollah is operating, as the terror group risks escalating conflict in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meet at the Kirya in Tel Aviv on Aug. 25, 2024. Credit: Ma’ayan Toaf (GPO).

“Israel will not tolerate Hezbollah’s attacks on our civilians,” he said. “We are operating in self-defense from Hezbollah. … We are ready to do everything—everything—we need to defend the people of Israel.”

Hezbollah reportedly stated that its attack was in response to Israel killing its top commander Fuad Shukr last month.

Video circulating online purporting to depict Israel’s strike showed massive explosions lighting up the night sky in Lebanon, and Iron Dome interceptions over Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had met, and Netanyahu plans to convene the security cabinet at 7 a.m. local time, per his office.

Gallant called a “special situation on the home front,” a “declaration on the state of emergency (that) enables the IDF to issue instructions to the citizens of Israel, including limiting gatherings and closing sites where it may be relevant,” per the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meet at the Kirya in Tel Aviv on Aug. 25, 2024. Credit: Ariel Hermoni/Israeli Ministry of Defense.

Gallant and U.S. Secretary of State Lloyd Austin had also spoken on Sunday Israel time, shortly before midnight in Washington, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry.

“We have conducted precise strikes in Lebanon in order to thwart an imminent threat against the citizens of Israel,” Gallant said, per an Israeli readout of the call. “We are closely following developments in Beirut, and we are determined to use all the means at our disposal in order to defend our citizens.”

Gallant and Austin “discussed the importance of avoiding regional escalation,” and Gallant “emphasized that Israel’s defense establishment is determined to defend the citizens of Israel and will use all the means at its disposal to remove imminent threats,” per the Israeli readout. “The defense establishment is following developments in Beirut and is prepared to deploy defensive and offensive means.”

U.S. President Joe Biden “is closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon,” stated Sean Savett, a spokesman for the National Security Council. “He has been engaged with his national security team throughout the evening.”

“At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts,” Savett added. “We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability.”

Ben Gurion International Airport was reportedly closed amid the attacks.

“Since Oct. 7, Hezbollah has been firing rockets against Israel, displacing up to 100,000 Israelis from their homes and communities—an unacceptable loss of sovereignty that no other country, including our own, would ever accept,” stated Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.).

“Israel is no exception to the rule of self-defense,” Torres said. “The Jewish state has a right to respond to the relentless rocket-fire from Hezbollah, which stands as the most heavily armed terrorist organization in the world and the most powerful proxy for the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“In addition to responding to 10 months of relentless rocket fire, Israel is acting on the basis of U.S.-Israeli intelligence revealing an imminent major attack from Hezbollah,” he added. “Hence the need for an Israeli strike that is both preemptive and defensive all at once.”

Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, stated that “Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah has launched thousands of rockets at Israel since Oct. 7.”

“Israel could not sit back and wait for thousands more to be fired into Israel, so tonight it struck preemptively to protect innocent civilians,” he added. “Israel has the right to defend itself and the obligation to protect its citizens in the face of ongoing Hezbollah attacks.”

This is a developing story.

Hamas Mulled Exhuming Graves of British Soldiers to Deter UK from Moving Embassy to Jerusalem

i24 News and Algemeiner Staff

Yahya Sinwar, head of the Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City on April 14, 2023. Photo: Yousef Masoud / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Hamas, the Palestinian jihadist group at war with Israel, planned to exhume century-old graves of British soldiers in the Gaza Strip and use the remains as leverage to blackmail the British government, the Telegraph reported Friday.

Israeli forces fighting against Hamas in Gaza uncovered a seven-page document detailing the malodorous plan, dated October 5, 2022. It is understood the document links the plan to Yahya Sinwar, the then-Hamas leader in Gaza, who would go on to orchestrate the October 7 massacre. He was recently named as the new chief of the Hamas political bureau after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

The document outlined the jihadists’ strategy to pressure the UK government into reversing its stance on Jerusalem following then-Prime Minister Liz Truss’s announced decision to relocate the British embassy from Tel Aviv.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission administers a cemetery in central Gaza holding the graves of Christian and some Jewish soldiers from WWI. According to the Telegraph, the graveyard holds the remains of over 3,000 Commonwealth troops.

Hamas, Islamic Jihad Claim Responsibility for Failed Suicide Bombing in Tel Aviv

Algemeiner Staff

Israeli security and emergency responders work at the site of a bomb blast in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Moti Milrod

Ramat Gan resident indicted on charges of spying for Iranian agent

ALON HACHMON

The defendant received a total of $12,000 in cryptocurrencies.

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An anti-Israel billboard is seen next to the Iranian flag during a celebration following the IRGC attack on Israel, in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2024.
(photo credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA/via Reuters)

The state attorney’s office filed an indictment on Monday against Eden Debs, a 30-year-old resident of Ramat Gan, for performing tasks for and receiving cryptocurrency payment from an Iranian foreign agent. Among other things, Debs printed and hung posters encouraging a military coup and helped promote a Telegram group aimed at recruiting more Israeli citizens.

According to the indictment filed by Attorney Nathaniel Bojo from the Central District Attorney’s Office, the defendant was in contact with an entity acting on behalf of Iranian intelligence agencies. The agents contacted him through the Telegram network.

The agent asked the defendant to perform various tasks for him for a high fee, some of which the defendant carried out despite knowing that the agent was acting on behalf of an enemy country.

Among other things, the defendant, at the agent’s request, printed and hung posters throughout the country encouraging a military coup and also helped to promote a Telegram group called “The People’s Army,” whose purpose is to establish contact with additional residents of Israel to recruit them, ask them to take pictures, send parcels, and engage in other activities.

In some cases, the defendant documented the actions as “proof” of having done them for him to receive the payment. The agent also ordered the defendant to purchase a business phone and a dedicated SIM card, a wig, gloves, and a hat, and, at a certain point, to delete all correspondence between them.

Conceptual image of war between Israel and Iran using chess pieces and national flags (credit: INGIMAGE)

The defendant maintained a long-term relationship with the agent. Both responded to direct requests from the agent and also offered to perform activities on his own initiative.

The defendant received a total of $12,000 in cryptocurrencies.

Details of the indictment 

The indictment includes an additional charge for possession of various types of drugs, including MDMA, cocaine, and more. At the same time as the indictment, the prosecutor’s office also submitted a request for detention against Debs until the end of legal proceedings against him.

The request was worded as follows: “The respondent maintained contact with an intelligence agency from an enemy country, and within the framework of this contact, he assisted it in its war against the State of Israel. Among other things, the defendant hung posters that encouraged incitement in the Israeli public space and helped to promote a Telegram group dedicated to recruiting additional agents. The severity of the defendant’s actions is intensified by the fact that they were carried out in a war, with all that implies.”