Grieving relatives set 100-day deadline for new unity framework

Israelis are being asked to master the art of living together with the same rigor they once applied to protecting wildflowers. This is the central argument of Hamechane, a group formed by bereaved relatives and war survivors who are pressuring the incoming government to act within its first 100 days.

The coalition seeks a national framework for social cohesion. Moshe Shapiro, whose son Aner died on October 7, 2023, while defending music festival attendees, leads the effort. He cites the 1960s wildflower campaign as a model, noting it combined legal protection with public education until the cause became ingrained in generations of children.

Shapiro is joined by Shai Zohar and Hoda Daxa. Zohar is the uncle of Captain Omer Neutra, a New York soldier killed on October 7 whose body was returned from Gaza in November 2025. Daxa is the widow of Colonel Ehsan Daxa, commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, who was killed leading troops in northern Gaza in October 2024.

Zohar identifies internal polarization as the country's greatest existential threat. He argues that pre-October 7 divisions contributed to the catastrophe. "Unity is an operating system, an approach," Zohar stated, warning that the nation has already paid an immense price. He admitted to not fully grasping the impact of the 2018 Nation-State Law on the Druze community until he heard Daxa speak.

Daxa, a Druze, highlighted the law's exclusion of her community, whose soldiers serve the state. She recalled sensing discomfort from train passengers while speaking Arabic with her children. "Hatred doesn't distinguish," she said. She stressed that unity must extend beyond Jewish solidarity to include all communities who wish to contribute.

The group spent a year building a shared vision among religious and secular Jews, haredim, Druze, and political opponents. Shapiro noted that members vote for different parties but prioritize learning over assumption. He referenced his grandfather Haim-Moshe Shapiro, a Declaration of Independence signer, who urged Prime Minister Levi Eshkol in 1967 to widen the government to include opposition parties.

Hamechane aims to foster personal connections through schools and workplaces. Shapiro wants children to learn how to handle disagreement and seeks measures against online hatred. The group has left the specific structure of the new body to elected officials. Daxa stated that recognizing polarization as a national danger is a necessary first step.

Shapiro clarified that the initiative does not ask for the sacrifice of lives, but for listening and mutual obligation. The group hopes to make respect for others, even amid deep disagreement, a fundamental part of Israeli society.