Families of October 7 victims blast Netanyahu-Haredi deal as a political crime

Families of people killed on October 7 sharply condemned a reported deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Shas chief Aryeh Deri and Degel HaTorah leader Moshe Gafni. According to the report exposed by ynet, the Haredi parties would back legislation for a political inquiry into the October 7 massacre in exchange for advancing Basic Law legislation on Torah study and a bill to prevent draft-dodger arrests.

Shir Matthias, whose parents Shahar and Shlomi were murdered in their home in Holit on October 7, said she was shocked by the arrangement. “They are trading my parents’ murder for political survival,” she said, adding that families want a state commission of inquiry because “those who held the wheel on October 7 cannot investigate their own failure.” She said she seeks “the cleanest truth” for herself and her parents, not accusations.

Natalia Kasroti, whose son Keshet was killed at the Nova music festival, said she had seen “zero accountability” and “zero desire to try to investigate the truth, the failures” over the past two years and nine months. Living in Eilat in recent months, she warned that without lessons learned, “how will I know everything here will be okay?” She said the government has not visited bereaved families and instead keeps the country in an ongoing war under shifting names.

Ail Eshal, father of the slain lookout Roni and a leading figure in the October Council protest movement, said the coalition talks show the government’s priorities are preserving unity and the bloc. “This is not only a political price, it is a national and moral price,” he said, accusing the government of trying to erase the public agenda with deals and spin. Yuval Zaushnitzer, whose partner Roy Chappell was killed, called the move a political bill that “spits in the face” of part of the country, saying it would harm reservists and bereaved families while the army says it lacks soldiers.