PM’s office proposes dropping ‘massacre’ from Oct. 7 memorial bill

A sister of an Oct. 7 victim who attended the meeting called for deliberations to continue until everyone is satisfied.

By Dinah Bucholz, Jewish Breaking News

A proposal Wednesday from the prime minister’s office to remove the word “massacre” from an Oct. 7 memorial bill suggests using the words “events” or “incidents” instead.

While defenders argue that the events of 1929 are not called “a massacre” because many events occurred and everyone understands that Oct. 7 was more than just one massacre, the proposal generated outrage, especially among families of the bereaved.

During a Wednesday Knesset Education, Culture, and Sports Committee meeting to discuss the bill, Yoav Elbaz, the representative from the Prime Minister’s office who called for the change, said, “We went through a lot of strategy and decided to call it ‘events’ and ‘incidents,’ because it wasn’t only a massacre; there was also a massacre, and the word appears later in the proposed text … the 1929 events were called that [events], not the ‘1929 massacre,’ because remembrance builds resilience.”

The acting chairperson of the committee, MK Yosef Taieb from the Shas party, pushed back.

“We all know today that there was a massacre,” he said. “My concern is whether our children and grandchildren will know this. There will be no whitewashing of the matter.”

A sister of an Oct. 7 victim who attended the meeting called for deliberations to continue until everyone is satisfied.

“It doesn’t make sense for the Prime Minister’s Office to manage the event while it prevents investigation into the attacks,” said Hila Avir, whose sister was killed at the Supernova Music Festival.

“We waited two and a half years and can wait a little longer until there’s a proper law suitable for everyone. Only then will there be commemoration like there needs to be.”

Others blasted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the proposed shift.

“There was a massacre, rape, murder, and abduction of thousands of Israelis,” declared Yisrael Beiteinu chairperson Avigdor Liberman. “He [the prime minister] cannot escape responsibility.”

What to call Memorial Day is not the only source of contention. When the Knesset passed the bill after its first reading, the day was set for 24 Tishrei, after the holiday of Sukkot/Simchat Torah had already drawn to a close, but the families of victims are pushing for Oct. 7 to be set as the national day of remembrance.

In 2024, one year after the Oct. 7 attack, grieving families refused to participate in a government-directed commemoration and joined together in their own event to mourn and commemorate the day.