Survivors and Bereaved Families Launch Initiative to Combat Societal Polarization
Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Survivors and bereaved families formed "HaMakneh" to combat Israeli societal polarization.
- They are urging the next government to create a national body for social cohesion.
- The group aims to foster ten million new connections between diverse Israelis.
- Polarization is seen as a greater threat to Israel than Iran or the Palestinian conflict.
- Personal encounters are highlighted as key to rebuilding trust and unity.
A new group called "HaMakneh" (The Common Denominator) has been established by former hostages, bereaved families, and other victims of terror and war, aiming to address the growing polarization within Israeli society. The initiative, launched on Sunday, seeks to make societal division a central national challenge for the coming years. The group's founders, who come from diverse backgrounds and hold different worldviews, found common ground through their shared experiences of loss, captivity, and injury.
"HaMakneh" argues that polarization is no longer just a political disagreement but a national threat. Citing a 2026 survey by the Jewish People Policy Institute, 55% of Israelis consider internal division the most dangerous threat to Israel, surpassing the Iranian nuclear threat and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The group is calling on the next government to establish a permanent national body dedicated to social cohesion within its first 100 days in office.
This proposed body would systematically map the roots of polarization, develop a multi-year national strategy, and involve the education system, local authorities, the business sector, and civil society in rebuilding trust and social resilience. Alongside this demand for government action, "HaMakneh" is also setting a public goal of creating ten million new connections between Israelis from different communities, sectors, and backgrounds, using the hashtag #Another_1_to_the_Denominator.
The initiative emphasizes the power of personal encounters to bridge divides. "If more Israelis personally know someone not from their camp and speak with them openly, without attaching cynical labels, it will be much harder to divide us," stated Chen Avigdori, whose wife and daughter were taken hostage. Meirav Berger, whose daughter was also held captive, added, "This connection gave us strength, and I want us to know how to preserve it even when there is no emergency, and even when we disagree. We don't need to wait for the next disaster to remember that we have much more in common than we think."