Thousands of people rallied on Tel Aviv's Hostage Square on Saturday to demand the establishment of a commission of inquiry into the failures committed during the October 7 massacre in 2023, with most of the opposition's leaders present at the event.
The rally was organized by the October Council, an aggregation of families and friends of victims and survivors of the Hamas massacre, while Gadi Eisenot (head of Yashar), Naftali Bennet (B'Yachad), and Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) were present at the site.
Protest opens with addresses from families of victims
Yossi Marshak and Titi Aynaw opened the rally with an address to the bereaved families, the survivors of the massacre and captivity, the families of the hostages, the fighters, and those wounded in body and soul, saying, “To all of you, we want to say: our hearts are with you. We are with you; you are not alone.”
Marshak addressed the crowd in the square and said, “Look around you. Look how many people are here. After three years of pain. After three years of struggle. After three years during which they tried to deny what happened to all of us, tried to normalize, exhaust, despair, and tell us that we should give up and get used to it, we are here to say: we will not give up on the truth.”
At the opening of the rally, Titi Aynaw addressed the families in the square, also mentioning the families who joined the circle of bereavement in recent days.
“All of us here tonight share pain. With a broken heart, yesterday we heard the crushing words ‘cleared for publication.’ Our hearts are with the family of Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roitman and with the family of Sergeant Yuval Shai Swilam, who were murdered in a terrorist attack,” Aynaw said.
“We share in the grief of the families whose loved ones took their own lives because they could no longer bear the psychological pain. May their memory be blessed,” Aynaw continued
"This evening is called ‘For Them. For Us.’ For those we lost. For those who returned. For those who fought and are still fighting. And for the country we want to leave for our children," she said.
Government's refusal to pursue 'truth'
Rabbi Elhanan Danino, the father of Ori Danino, who was abducted from the Nova festival and murdered in Hamas captivity, delivered his remarks demanding the establishment of a state commission of inquiry. Shouts of "Shame" erupted from the crowd, amplifying his criticism of the leadership and its evasion of investigating the massacre.
"Three years and a bit after that bitter and hasty day on which our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters were abducted, slaughtered, burned, raped, and murdered. And still, the leadership has not made the decision to carry out the most important and essential thing, the pursuit of truth," Danino told the crowd.
"A state commission of inquiry that will investigate everyone. A commission of inquiry will not bring our sons back to us, but it is the duty of all of us. It is an obligation for your future and our future, an obligation for the future of your children and our children, and an obligation for our soldiers who continue to risk their lives for our very existence here, and for that, a huge thank you to you, IDF soldiers and members of the security forces," he added.
Captivity survivor Danielle Aloni, who was abducted and taken to Gaza with her daughter Emilia and held hostage for 49 days, described the helplessness she felt when she could not promise her daughter that she would be able to protect her.
"Do you know what the most terrible thing that can happen to a mother is? Not the fear of dying. The fear that your child will die, and you will not be able to do anything to save her," she said.
Aloni demanded the establishment of a state commission of inquiry and made clear that even after returning from captivity, she cannot promise her daughter that the disaster will not happen again.
"How can I promise her that this will never happen again, when three years after the most terrible disaster in our history a state commission of inquiry has still not been established?" she asked.
Ahead of the elections, she called on the public to go out and vote: "Do not give up on your vote. Do not give up on the opportunity to influence our future."
'Our children deserve a safer future'
Zoli Mor, who, along with his wife Leron, adopted Avigail Idan and her siblings Michael and Amalia after their parents were murdered on October 7, recounted the phone call he received from nine-year-old Michael on the morning of the massacre.
"Mom and Dad are dead. They were shot," he said, adding that an IDF force only arrived at their home at 11:30 p.m., and that the officer who met them burst into tears and asked for forgiveness for the delay.
"He was not to blame, but he felt responsibility. I wish I could say that about those who were truly responsible," he said.
Mor criticized the fact that three years after the massacre, answers have still not been given to the families, and described how he met with then-US President Joe Biden at the White House, while claiming that the Israeli government did not contact him.
"We deserve answers. We deserve taking responsibility. And our children deserve a safer future," he added. Mor concluded his remarks with the memory of his son's words that day: "Dad, I don't want to die today."
The mother of Noa, who was murdered at the age of 22 and a half at the Nova festival, spoke about her daughter, who hid in a roadside bomb shelter at the entrance to Kibbutz Re'im along with dozens of young people.
Out of 41 people who were there, 28 were murdered, including Noa. She described her daughter as a young woman full of joy for life, a social activist who always cared for others.
"On October 7, I lost the dearest thing to me in the world. I lost my little girl, her hug, her voice, her laughter," she said.
"In every such moment, there was also a sharp, deep, and personal pain with the realization that my Noa did not get to return," she said.
Threats to disrupt the rally
Ahead of the rally tonight at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, the October Council appealed to the Police Commissioner, Inspector General Danny Levy, warning against planned attempts to disrupt the event.
According to the organizers, information they received points to preparations by elements directly or indirectly connected to figures within coalition parties to incite provocations and harm the rally's message.
The concern presented by the families did not stop at disrupting speeches. They warned of an effort to create scenes of clashes, signs, and flags that would be perceived as part of the rally, even though they have no connection to its organizers. Instead of public discourse focusing on the demand for a state commission of inquiry, they fear it will be diverted to riots and the messaging of others.
"In recent days, it has been brought to our attention, by several sources whom we consider authoritative and well-informed, and by leaders of parties running for the Knesset, concerning information according to which there are preparations by elements identified or connected, directly or indirectly, with figures in coalition parties, to arrive at the rally area and act to disrupt it," the appeal to the commissioner stated.
According to the families who signed the letter, these actions "may be perceived by the public or media as though they are part of the rally, even though they have no connection whatsoever to it or to its organizers."
The identity of the entities to which the warning refers is not specified in the letter.
This is a developing story.