Full Breakdown
Third-Anniversary Memorial in Tel Aviv Calls for Truth Amid Government Absence
By Drooid · · How we work
The ceremony and its scale
On the evening of October 7, 2023, about 50,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park for a national memorial marking the third anniversary of the Hamas-led attack. Organized by the Kumu movement—a coalition of families of victims, hostages and survivors—the event was hosted by former hostage Eli Sharabi and actress Shani Cohen. Musical performances, prayers and testimonies honored the roughly 1,200 civilians killed, the 46 hostages who later died in Gaza, and the soldiers and reservists who fought back.
Background and context
The ceremony differed from the official state commemoration held earlier that week. It was the first large-scale gathering after the last hostage was returned from Gaza in October 2025, shifting focus from hostage-release negotiations to a demand for a full inquiry into the failures that allowed the Oct 7 assault.
Key figures
- Eli Sharabi – former Gaza hostage whose wife and two daughters were killed in Kibbutz Be’eri.
- Shani Cohen – Israeli actress and co-host.
- Omer Shifroni – Kumu founder, calling for a state commission of inquiry.
- Yair Golan – chair of The Democrats party, criticizing the government’s absence.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – opposes a state-level commission, favoring a politically appointed probe.
Data and statistics
- Attendance: reports range from 30,000 to 50,000.
- Fatalities on Oct 7: approximately 1,200 civilians.
- Hostages: 46 taken alive to Gaza; all later died.
Official statements & responses
- Netanyahu has repeatedly resisted forming a state commission, opting for legislation that would create a politically appointed probe.
- Opposition leaders—including Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz and Yair Golan—attended the Yarkon Park ceremony, underscoring the political divide over accountability.
Criticism & opposition
Yair Golan said the government “has not been where the citizens of Israel are: with the bereaved families, with the wounded communities, with those who served, who fought, rescued, and were injured, and with those who volunteered and held the country together during its hardest moments.”
Conflicting reports & gaps
Sources differ on crowd size: *Times of Israel* cites roughly 50,000 attendees, while *Themedialine* reports about 30,000. No independent headcount has been released, leaving the exact magnitude of public participation unclear.
Verbatim quotes
- “We must remember those who were murdered, those who fell, who left home and never returned.” — Eli Sharabi
- “On that Shabbat morning, we lost so much.” — Eli Sharabi
- “They held on for weeks and months in the darkness, in fear, clinging to life, waiting for someone to come and save them.” — Adi Marciano
- “Only if we learn can we mend, and only if we mend, can we build a safer, more worthy, better place here. That is our hope, after everything, and despite everything, there will yet be a better life here.” — Shani Cohen
Why it matters
The ceremony highlighted a persistent public demand for an independent investigation into the Oct 7 failures. The contrast between a massive civilian-led memorial and the government’s refusal to convene a state commission underscores ongoing tensions over accountability, trust and the narrative of the nation’s security failures.