The government announced on Saturday that it will not hold an official state ceremony this year on Oct. 7, the anniversary of Hamas’s deadly attacks, marking a departure from last year’s one-time decision.
Instead, a national day of remembrance for the Oct. 7 events and the ongoing war will be observed only on the Hebrew calendar date, the 24th of Tishrei, which falls this year on Oct. 16.
Two state ceremonies will take place that day at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem: one at 11 a.m. to honor fallen soldiers and another at 1 p.m. for civilians killed in the attacks.
On the Gregorian date of Oct. 7, the only memorial will be one organized by KUMI, a nonprofit led by Yonatan Shamriz, whose brother Alon was killed by Israeli fire alongside hostages Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka.
The evening ceremony on Oct. 7, scheduled for 9:30 p.m., will feature an extensive lineup of Israeli performers, all volunteering to participate. Among those announced: Esther Rada, Berry Sakharof, Daniel Weiss, Hadag Nahash, Hatikva 6, Yuval Rafael, Yardena Arazi, Noam and Rami Kleinstein, Eden Golan, Eden Hason, Amir Benayoun, Rita, Riki Gal, Shiri Maimon, Shalom Hanoch, Shlomi Shabat, Shlomo Artzi and Tamir Greenberg. The memorial will be broadcast live on television and screened at community gatherings in Israel and abroad.
KUMI has not yet finalized the venue but said it aims to secure a central location within budget. To fund the event, the group launched a crowdfunding campaign that recently reached its target of 2 million shekels (about $600,000).
Last year, Israel held two official ceremonies — one on Oct. 7 and another on the Hebrew date — but government officials said from the outset the Gregorian date would be marked only once.