Bereaved Families Set 100 Day Unity Deadline

Bereaved families and war survivors have set a specific deadline for the next Israeli government. The group Hamechane wants a national framework for social cohesion adopted within the first 100 days of the new administration. Members include relatives of those killed in the Israel-Gaza War, as well as captivity survivors and the wounded.

Moshe Shapiro, whose son Aner died on October 7, 2023, leads the initiative. He spoke with Hoda Daxa and Shai Zohar ahead of the elections. Zohar is the uncle of Capt. Omer Neutra, a soldier from New York killed on October 7. Daxa is the widow of Col. Ehsan Daxa, commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, who was killed in northern Gaza in October 2024.

Shapiro cites the 1960s wildflower protection campaign as a model. That effort combined legal rules with public education to change behavior. He wants similar measures for social respect. Zohar argues that internal division is Israel's biggest existential threat. He states that Israel has already paid an immense price for these splits.

Daxa, a Druze, notes that belonging is tested in daily life. She recalls sensing discomfort from passengers when speaking Arabic on a train. She says unity must include all communities, not just Jews. Group members vote for different parties but aim to listen rather than assume one side is right.

The 2018 Nation-State Law remains a point of tension. The law defines Hebrew as the state language and reserves national self-determination for the Jewish people. Druze critics argue it excludes their community. The High Court upheld the law in 2021. In November 2023, Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif called for constitutional recognition of Druze rights.

Shapiro says the group spent a year building a shared vision. The coalition includes religious and secular Jews, Haredim, Druze, and people from the political Right and Left. He notes that his grandfather, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, urged coalition building before the Six Day War. The government expanded in June 1967 to include opposition parties.

Hamechane proposes using schools and workplaces to build personal connections. Shapiro wants children to learn how to handle disagreement. The group also wants measures against online activity that inflames hatred. The group has not decided on the specific structure of the new body. It leaves that decision to elected officials.