Survivors of October 7th Massacre Demand Truth at National Memorial Ceremony

A national memorial ceremony for the October 7th massacre was held Wednesday evening at Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park, attended by hundreds of bereaved families, former hostages, representatives of affected communities, and artists. The event, hosted by hostage survivor Eli Sharabi and actress Shani Cohen, began with a moment of silence. Sharabi stated, "In the name of the murdered and fallen, and for future generations, we will testify and tell what happened on the day the sky fell upon us. We will remember everyone, and never forget." He concluded by calling for an investigation into the October 7th events, emphasizing, "We owe ourselves the truth. Investigate without cutting corners, do not rewrite history."

Omri Shaproni, a survivor of the Kibbutz Be'eri massacre who lost four family members, echoed this call for an investigation into the failures that enabled the Hamas attack. "To rebuild trust, we also need the truth. We must know what happened. Without investigating the truth, we cannot fix, and we cannot ensure this will not happen again," Shaproni said, adding, "This must not be a political debate. It is a moral, ethical, and security obligation." He stressed that three years after the massacre, the question "How did this happen to us?" remains, and "We will not give up on the answer. Only if we look the truth in the eye, only if we learn, and only if we fix."

Aviva Chana, sister of Israel Chana, who was murdered in Ofakim, recounted her brother's final moments, describing how he fought terrorists alone with a pistol and limited ammunition. Adi Marziano, mother of observer Noa Marziano, who was abducted to Gaza and murdered in captivity, spoke of the agony of not knowing her daughter's fate and the pain of receiving her body back. "We received them for eternal rest. And we also received a new family, the bereaved family," she said, apologizing to her daughter for not being able to save her.

The ceremony, now in its third year at Yarkon Park, was initiated by the "Komo" movement and funded through crowdfunding. Tens of thousands of tickets were distributed for free. Yonatan Shamriz, a co-founder of the ceremony and brother of Alon Shamriz, who was kidnapped and later shot by IDF forces, stated that the event is becoming a tradition. He envisions it as the largest memorial event in Israel's history, with an open park, top Israeli artists, and tens of thousands of attendees.

Shiral Chogeg, a co-founder of the "Komo" movement, emphasized the ceremony's necessity to prevent the truth from being blurred and testimonies from being forgotten. "Remembering October 7th is a national duty. The heroism must be told in full, as well as the abandonment and helplessness. The families of October 7th have taken upon themselves something they never asked to bear: responsibility for the national memory of the State of Israel. This is our historical command for the fallen and for future generations," she stated. The event featured performances by numerous prominent Israeli artists.