Family members of victims of the Second Lebanon War
held a memorial Wednesday in honor of the fallen, but could not help noticing the absence of MKs.
"Too bad these are our leaders, and they are the ones who decide the fates of our children," one of the parents said.
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Liora Hasson, a bereaved mother from moshav Na'ama in the Jordan Valley said: "I think that Knesset members who did not show up missed out. They don’t understand what wonderful children we have."
Hasson added that "the only one who wanted to attend was MK Yoni Chetboun with the Habayit Hayehudi party," but Knesset attendance protocol prevented his arrival. "I guess it wasn’t important enough to allow him to attend. It hurts.
"I hope," she said, "that come election day, we'll slam the door in their faces in the same way."
Another family member said "Of course it bothers me; I'd expect ministers to attend, but I know that some here say that their absence isn’t important."
Amos Shalev, who lost his son in the last day of the war, felt differently. "I have no problem with the fact that no Knesset members attended. I came here to pay respects to my son. It's enough that we had parents and families with us.
"This ceremony is not a national ceremony," Shalev added. "It was organized by the parents. The official ceremony was held in Mount Herzl two weeks ago, and barely 20 families were there. Government representative was MK Gila Gamliel, but since few parents attended, they can't complain that ministers weren't there."
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