Bereaved families to Ya'alon: Prevent joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial service

"The ceremony is provocative and demeaning to Remembrance Day and to the memory of the fallen soldiers."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Mourners attend the funeral of St.-Sgt. Amit Yaori in Jerusalem. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Mourners attend the funeral of St.-Sgt. Amit Yaori in Jerusalem.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
More than 100 bereaved Israeli families from Samaria sent a letter to Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon demanding that he prevent visas from being issued to Palestinian families wishing to enter Israel to participate in a joint ceremony, Army Radio reported Sunday.
The annual Remembrance Day ceremony held by the organization Combatants for Peace is a private initiative that brings together members of bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families to mourn their losses attributed to the ongoing conflict.
“The ceremony is provocative and demeaning to Remembrance Day and to the memory of the fallen soldiers,” the letter read. “We are appalled that the Israeli government would allow such a joint memorial event to be held in memory of our enemies who are the reason for the murder and injury to our boys who enlisted in the army to protect the people and the land, and our boys living in Israel who died, if only because they were Jews.”
The event is scheduled for Wednesday at the Trade Fairs and Convention Center in Tel Aviv for a 10th consecutive year. Last year 3,000 people attended the event. Speakers were comprised of bereaved Palestinians and Israelis who have lost family members in the conflict.
“To hold a joint ceremony of bereaved Arab and Israeli families is just spitting in the faces of all the fallen and the murdered holy Jews,” said Benny Katzover, chairman of the Samaria Citizens Committee.
The 107 writers of the letter have planned an organized protest to be held outside of the event hall.