Bereaved Mother Slams "Disengagement Festival" Dancing to "Song for Peace"

Meirav Hagag, mother of the late Lieutenant Shir Hagag who was killed in a terror attack, has sharply criticized dancing to the song "Shalom" at the Indigev Festival held in the Gaza envelope, near the site of the Nova massacre. Hagag, whose daughter was killed in a 2017 terror attack in Jerusalem, expressed her pain over the revelry, stating, "Sing the Song for Peace for your 2,300 Oslo victims, for the 1,200 victims of October 7th, for the hundreds of soldiers who fell." She urged participants to "Sing, be moved, and cry. And also call us 'death eaters' along the way."

The festival, held approximately 20 kilometers from the site of the Nova party massacre, has been dubbed the "Disengagement Festival." Videos from the event showed participants wearing shirts associated with the Democratic Party and Yair Golan, and one person was seen wearing a keffiyeh. The dancing to "Shalom," a song long associated with the Israeli peace movement, occurred in an area close to where hundreds were killed in the Hamas attack.

Hagag, who has been a public advocate against terror since losing her daughter, highlighted the heavy price paid by Israeli families due to terrorism and war. She directed her criticism at the festival-goers, linking their celebration to the sacrifices made by victims and their families. The phrase "death eaters" was used to describe what she perceives as a dismissive attitude towards those who hold different security and political views.

In contrast, Ayman Odeh, Chairman of Hadash-Ta'al, expressed enthusiastic support for the dancing, sharing videos from the festival on social media. Odeh described the scenes as a powerful expression of hope for a shared future between Jews and Arabs, recalling similar moments from the 1990s. He was particularly moved by the young people "shouting and jumping for peace," seeing it as a hopeful sign for the future, which contrasted sharply with Hagag's somber remembrance of the victims.