The government will confirm annual national memorial days to mark the October 7 disaster and the subsequent Swords of Iron War in its weekly meeting this coming Sunday.
According to the proposal, the 24th of Tishrei will be established as the state memorial day for October 7 and the fallen of the war, with memorial and commemoration ceremonies held in all state institutions and the IDF. The decision also proposes that if this day occurs on a weekend, it will be deferred to the following Sunday.
This coming year, a national event will be held on October 7, 2024 to mark a year since the massacre. The list of national ceremonies will include the Swords of Iron War. Once every decade, a central memorial event will be held, like other wars.
Will a dedicated memorial authority be established?
A series of law proposals have been submitted to the Knesset to commemorate the fallen and establish a national memorial day, with most proposals pointing to the 23rd or 24th of Tishrei, a day or two after the Hebrew date of the terror attack, which took place on the holiday of Simchat Torah.
In addition Yisrael Beiteinu MK Oded Forer and 18 additional MKs submitted a law proposal to establish a dedicated memorial authority called Yad Otef Yisrael (lit. Memorial of the Israel Envelope), mimicking the Yad Vashem institute commemorating the Holocaust. According to the proposal, the authority will work to commemorate the civilians massacred by Hamas terrorists, as well as the heroism of the civilians and security and rescue forces killed during the attack.