Organizations representing family members of victims of the October 7 Hamas massacre harshly criticized Shas chairman and National Security Cabinet member MK Arye Deri on Monday, after Deri said in an interview that aired Sunday evening that the massacre “saved Israel.”
In the interview, conducted by Channel 14’s Yinon Magal, Deri said, “We were dealt a harsh blow on October 7, but ultimately it was our awakening. On October 7, the grand plan to destroy the people of Israel was revealed to us.” Deri acknowledged the failure of the massacre, but said that ultimately it "saved the people of Israel” and was part of “God’s big plan.”
According to Deri, the first thing that saved the people of Israel was that the leader of Hamas in Gaza Yahya Sinwar “decided to be the first — and not wait for the entire axis.”
The second, he said, was that “suddenly we discovered — and the entire people of Israel and the whole world understood — who Iran really is. Now, what happened here? The Iranians, as I told you, lost all of their proxies. Now they’ve been left exposed,” Deri said.
Deri's comments a 'slap in the face,' says October Council
The October Council, an NGO that represents over 1,500 families of victims and has focused on demanding a State Commission of Inquiry into the massacre, called Deri’s comments a “slap in the face.”
“The families of the October Council express profound outrage at the recent remarks by Minister Aryeh Deri, who is attempting to cultivate a false and degrading narrative as if the heavy price paid in the October 7 massacre was somehow ‘worth it.’”
“There is no price that can justify the failure of October 7. No military or political achievement removes responsibility for the abandonment, the collapse, and the worst massacre Israel has ever known.
“The attempt to erase, whitewash, or rewrite history and fabricate an alternative narrative is a slap in the face to bereaved families, to the hostages, the survivors — and to the entire public. As time passes, and as diplomatic or security achievements are presented to the nation, the obligation to establish a state commission of inquiry only grows more urgent — to ensure that the lessons are learned and the next disaster is prevented.”
“The 1,500 families of the October Council will not allow history to be rewritten. We will continue to fight with all our strength to obtain answers,” the organization concluded.
Yonatan Shamriz, whose brother, Alon, was taken hostage in October 7 and inadvertently shot to death by IDF soldiers after escaping his captors, wrote on X, “Deri, when my brother Alon was still held hostage, you didn’t dare look me in the eye. And now October 7 saved the people of Israel? Now you’re willing to say that — and look me in the eye while you do?”
Following his brother’s death, Shamriz founded a movement called “Kumu” (“Rise Up”), a “nonpartisan national grassroots movement” founded by the families of October 7 victims, with the aim of “cultivating responsible, principled, and unifying leadership to help heal and repair Israel,” according to its Facebook page. Kumu has led, among other initiatives, alternative “national” memorial ceremonies for the victims of the massacre.