Families of the fallen push new leaders to prioritize national unity

Bereaved families and war survivors are asking the next Israeli government to treat social cohesion as a core national duty, a request they plan to raise immediately after the upcoming elections. The initiative, known as Hamechane, seeks to embed respect for diverse communities into the fabric of the state, drawing a direct parallel to the country's historic efforts to protect its natural environment. Moshe Shapiro, whose son Aner was killed on October 7, 2023, is a leading voice in the group. He recalls that his son threw grenades from a roadside shelter to shield other attendees at the Nova music festival. Shapiro now wants Israelis to learn to live together with the same intensity that previous generations applied to saving wildflowers.

Shapiro spoke with The Jerusalem Post this week alongside Hoda Daxa and Shai Zohar, both of whom also lost family members during the war. Zohar is the uncle of Captain Omer Neutra, a soldier from New York who was killed on October 7 and whose remains were recovered in November 2025. Daxa’s husband, Colonel Ehsan Daxa, commanded the 401st Armored Brigade and was killed leading troops in northern Gaza in October 2024. The group’s name, which translates to the denominator, reflects its mission to find common ground among those who have suffered deeply.

The members of Hamechane include bereaved relatives, captivity survivors, and individuals wounded in the conflict with Gaza. Their primary demand is for the new administration to create a national framework for social cohesion within the first 100 days in power. Shapiro cites the wildflower campaign from the 1960s as a successful model. That initiative combined legal protections with public education, ensuring that generations of children grew up understanding the value of conservation. He argues that a similar approach is needed to make respect for others a standard, even when people hold deep disagreements.

Shai Zohar describes internal polarization as the country’s greatest existential threat. He argues that the divisions present before October 7 contributed to the catastrophe and warns that Israel cannot afford to slide backward. “Unity is an operating system, an approach,” he stated, noting that the nation has already paid an immense price. Zohar admitted that he did not fully grasp the impact of the 2018 Nation-State Law on the Druze community until he heard Daxa discuss it. “It went over my head,” he said, acknowledging a gap in his understanding.

The Nation-State Law reserves national self-determination for the Jewish people and defines Hebrew as the state language, while granting Arabic special status without an explicit equality guarantee. Critics, including many Druze, argue the law excludes a community whose soldiers serve the state. The High Court upheld the law in 2021, ruling it compatible with existing equality protections. In November 2023, Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif called for constitutional recognition of the community’s rights, and the coalition promised separate legislation on the status of Druze citizens.

Hoda Daxa emphasizes that a sense of belonging is tested in daily life. She recalled riding a train with her children while speaking Arabic. Although no one commented, she sensed discomfort among other passengers. “Hatred doesn’t distinguish,” she said. Daxa stressed that unity must extend beyond solidarity among Jews alone, as many non-Jewish residents feel part of Israeli society and wish to contribute. She noted that group members vote for different parties, but they maintain dialogue because they are willing to learn rather than assume one side is always right. “We come with an open heart,” she said.

Shapiro described a yearlong process of building a shared vision among religious and secular Jews, haredim, Druze, and people from the political Right and Left. “This is the face of Israeli society,” he said, adding that no one had to hide their views. He recalled his grandfather, Haim-Moshe Shapiro, who signed the Declaration of Independence and served as a minister. Before the Six Day War in 1967, his grandfather urged Prime Minister Levi Eshkol to bring opposition parties into the government. The coalition was eventually widened to include Gahal, led by Menachem Begin, and Rafi, whose members included Moshe Dayan, who became defense minister.

Aner Shapiro had expressed a similar outlook in a social media post written before October 7. After graffiti defaced an image of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he criticized the categories of religious, secular, right-wing, and left-wing, writing, “There really is no ‘them.’” Moshe Shapiro said he had believed such divisions were fading during the shiva for his son but now feels disappointment at their return. Hamechane hopes to encourage personal connections through schools, workplaces, and communities. Shapiro wants children to learn about different communities and how to handle disagreement, and he supports measures against online activity that inflames hatred. The group has not defined the structure of the body it seeks, leaving that to elected officials. Daxa said recognizing polarization as a national danger would be a significant first step. Shapiro stressed that he is not asking people to sacrifice their lives, only to listen, make room for others, and remember that disagreement does not cancel mutual obligations.