Families of the Fallen Demand Cohesion Law Within 100 Days

Bereaved Israeli families have issued a formal request for the next government to enact a national framework for social cohesion within its first 100 days. The initiative, named Hamechane, which translates to the denominator, aims to institutionalize a shared responsibility for internal unity.

Moshe Shapiro, whose son Aner was killed on October 7, 2023, leads the effort alongside Hoda Daxa and Shai Zohar. Aner died while defending Nova music festival attendees in a roadside shelter. Zohar is the uncle of Capt. Omer Neutra, a New York soldier whose remains were returned from Gaza in November 2025. Daxa is the widow of Col. Ehsan Daxa, who commanded the 401st Armored Brigade and was killed in northern Gaza in October 2024.

Shapiro cited the 1960s wildflower protection campaign as a structural model. That program combined legal safeguards with public education until the cause became part of the national curriculum. He proposes a similar approach for social respect, seeking to embed the value of listening to opposing views into the fabric of Israeli society.

Zohar identified internal polarization as the nation's greatest existential threat. He argued that pre-existing divisions facilitated the October 7 catastrophe. "Unity is an operating system, an approach," Zohar stated. He noted that the nation has already paid an immense price for its fractures and warned against a return to previous patterns of division.

The group’s membership includes survivors of captivity and war-wounded individuals. They represent a cross-section of society, including religious and secular Jews, Haredim, Druze, and members of the political Right and Left. Daxa emphasized that the coalition’s strength lies in its willingness to engage across ideological lines. "We come with an open heart," she said.

Daxa highlighted the need for unity that extends beyond the Jewish majority. She referenced the 2018 Nation-State Law, which reserves self-determination for the Jewish people and defines Hebrew as the state language. While the High Court upheld the law in 2021, Druze critics argue it excludes a community whose soldiers serve in the defense of the state. Daxa, who is Druze, recalled a moment on a train where her use of Arabic created visible discomfort among passengers. "Hatred doesn't distinguish," she observed.

Shapiro described a yearlong process of drafting a shared vision among diverse community leaders. He recalled his grandfather, Haim-Moshe Shapiro, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, who urged Prime Minister Levi Eshkol to include opposition parties in the government before the Six-Day War. In June 1967, the cabinet expanded to include Gahal and Rafi, a precedent Shapiro views as a successful model for national inclusivity.

The group has not determined the specific legal structure of the proposed framework, leaving that task to elected officials and professionals. Shapiro stated that the initiative seeks to teach children how to listen and handle disagreement. He also proposed measures to address online activity that inflames hatred. The families are not asking for the sacrifice of personal beliefs, but for a commitment to mutual obligation despite deep disagreement.