A “National Day of Mourning” on the Hebrew calendar for the one-year commemoration of the October 7 Hamas massacre was approved by the government at its weekly meeting on Sunday in Jerusalem.
The day of mourning will include two national ceremonies. The first will be held by the Defense Ministry in honor of the fallen soldiers from October 7 and the ensuing war. The second will be held by the State Ceremonies and Events Department, which is part of the Prime Minister’s Office, in honor of the civilian casualties and casualties from rescue and aid services on October 7.
Simchat Torah
The massacre occurred on Simchat Torah, during which state ceremonies are not held. The day after Simchat Torah this year is a Friday; therefore the day of mourning will begin at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, October 26, and last until the same time on Sunday, October 27.
The day will include flags at half-mast from sunrise until sunset at all government buildings. In addition, the government decision included a recommendation that the education system and the IDF hold appropriate commemoration activities, as well as a recommendation to shut down all entertainment venues.
Both of the memorial ceremonies will include the president, prime minister, chief justice, and Knesset speaker. Transportation Minister MK Miri Regev was given responsibility for executing the government decision.
The decision came in the context of a broader debate about how to properly commemorate the massacre. Two major ceremonies were held to mark the anniversary on October 7. The first was a live ceremony led by families of victims and of hostages and did not include the participation of politicians or state symbols; the second, which was also run by Regev, was pre-recorded and did not include a live audience.
Some families said Regev had decided not to involve a live audience so as to avoid acts of protest. They also took issue with the fact that the government did not form the statutory ceremonies committee but chose to give Regev responsibility for what some viewed as a political award.
Not everyone was on board with the government’s decisions. Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli and Minister-without-Portfolio Gideon Sa’ar said there was no reason to hold a day of mourning this year, after the state already conducted a ceremony on October 7.
According to this view, the country usually marks days of national importance according to their Hebrew dates, but this year the de-facto day of mourning already occurred on October 7 and a second one was therefore unnecessary.