Israel’s President Isaac Herzog recently issued a public condemnation of the “right-wing demonstrators” who disrupted a controversial screening held at a reform synagogue in Ra’anana on Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews swiftly echoed his negative remarks, which were widely amplified across both Hebrew and English media outlets, in Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere—all of whom targeted the “rioters” and the “right-wing mob.”
Despite several first-hand witnesses at the event reporting that no harmful violence occurred from the demonstrators, and asserting that the incident has been deliberately exaggerated and misrepresented, these accounts were ignored. The media coverage recycled the same skewed narrative, without any meaningful investigation or attempt to present a fuller, more nuanced picture of what actually transpired.
The screening marked the first time that the joint “Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day” ceremony, organized by a fringe group that equates terrorists with their victims, was allowed to be held in the city of Ra’anana. This decision caused deep anguish among many in the local community, especially bereaved families who were heartbroken to learn that the screening was honoring the very murderers who had slaughtered their children and so many others of our people.
For instance, those honored and commemorated included convicted terrorists such as the Abu-Shahab brothers, who were directly responsible for the murder of Israelis. Kamal Abu-Shahab supplied weapons to terrorists who shot at civilians in Netanya and was involved in numerous attacks himself. His brother, Taysir, was a Hamas operative who manufactured explosive belts for suicide bombers.
While violence or hate speech must never be condoned, the president’s statement and his added comment to the local police that they must “spare no means when investigating the right-wing rioters,” as well as that of the UK Board of Deputies and others who reiterated his remarks without investigating further, misses the deeper issue.
That issue is the complete failure of Ra’anana’s mayor and municipal leadership to uphold the country’s values, the city’s values, unity, and sensitivity during one of the holiest and most painful days on the Israeli calendar. Such sensitivity should be all the more acute while Israel is still at war; while the country continues to be in a state of national mourning; and while fresh graves are being dug for our brave IDF soldiers who gave, and continue to give their lives, defending our country and our people.
Let us be clear: The event was not a neutral or inclusive memorial. It was a politically charged gathering on Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s most sacred day of remembrance, endorsed by groups that advocate for the recognition of terrorists as “victims.”
That this ceremony was hosted in a city-funded synagogue, on a day meant to honor the sanctity of our people’s sacrifice, was deeply offensive and profoundly hurtful to many in the community, particularly those who have so recently lost loved ones.
The decision to continue with this screening despite many pleas earlier in the day, coupled with the silence and inaction of Ra’anana’s leadership, deeply hurt and pained bereaved families and outraged so many of the community.
Ra’anana, once known for tolerance and respectful coexistence, has in recent years drifted toward confusion and conflict, driven by weak and evasive leadership. What happened on Yom Hazikaron was not merely a disagreement over policy; it was a betrayal of our collective memory.
At a time when unity, compassion, and national solidarity are needed more than ever, when soldiers are still falling in battle and families are still fresh in mourning, the decision to allow such a ceremony to take place demonstrated not just poor judgment but a staggering lack of empathy.
While cities across Israel canceled similar fringe ceremonies out of respect for grieving families, Ra’anana’s leadership stood silent and allowed it to go forward. In their silence, they were complicit. This was not just poor judgment; it is a complete failure of empathy, responsibility, and basic decency to a community that has lost so many so recently, and that continues to send soldiers to the battlefields.
Even more concerning is the hypocrisy in public reaction from our city’s leadership as well as from national and international leadership. On Saturday night, demonstrators, many of whom were bused in from outside the city, stormed Ra’anana’s streets. Their excuse was that the Yom Hazikaron protest by bereaved families of recently fallen soldiers was a “pogrom.”
The term “pogrom” that they chose to use can only be seen as a grotesque and deeply offensive distortion of history. For Jewish families who endured real pogroms, this comparison is not only historically inaccurate; it is a form of weaponized cruelty. That such language is used by those who claim to promote love and unity, while directing their venom primarily at bereaved families in the city of Raanana, exposes a staggering level of hypocrisy and heartlessness.
Among the activist demonstrators on Saturday night were adult men who physically assaulted local youth in an unprovoked and disturbing incident. These demonstrations were led, in part, by figures currently serving as Ra’anana’s deputy mayor and the city’s future deputy mayor, leaders who have morphed from anti-reform protestors to anti-government activists, and now use the rhetoric of “anti-violence” and “anti-pogrom” while fostering disruption and division in our city.
Yet in this instance, we have heard not a single word of condemnation—not from the mayor, not Ra’anana’s city council, not from the president, who was quick to condemn the earlier violence, not from the UK Board of Deputies and not from the media. Not one of the attackers of our youth has been held accountable. There is, it seems, one standard for the “right” and no accountability for the “left.” This glaring double standard must be called out.
What’s more, the general portrayal by leaders of the synagogue protest as a case of “right-wing extremism” conveniently ignores the legitimate grief and outrage of residents who felt betrayed by their local leadership. When municipal officials enable narratives that equate terrorists with the soldiers who died defending our people just a moment ago, and while the country is still at war, public outrage and heartbreak is not only understandable, it is justified.
Raanana’s mayor’s ongoing refusal to address this pain or take a principled stand confirms what many in Ra’anana already feel: the city is no longer being led by a unifying vision, but by the loudest and most divisive fringe elements. Meanwhile, the mayor hides behind numbers and recycled political excuses. Yet, if the mayor and his council are unwilling or unable to represent all residents, if they cannot uphold the values of unity, dignity, and respect, particularly for our fallen during a time of war, then they should step aside. Ra’anana deserves better.
Their betrayal was echoed by our leaders—local, national and international—who issued uninformed slogans that only deepened the pain of a people already grieving.
No one is defending violence or hate. But we must not lose sight of what led to this situation: a deep and legitimate sense of betrayal by a city leadership that chose silence over solidarity, and political correctness over communal compassion.
Ra’anana does not belong to extremists, on the right or the left. It belongs to its residents: secular, religious, traditional, grieving and proud. On Yom Hazikaron, it belongs especially to the bereaved. They deserve leaders who listen, who lead with integrity and who protect the soul of the city and, indeed, our nation.