October 7 Memorial Ceremony Held in Haifa as Families Demand Accountability
Shlomo Sharf, who lost his granddaughter in the October 7 massacre, sharply criticized state authorities during a memorial ceremony in Haifa, demanding accountability.
Shlomo Sharf, who lost his granddaughter Mai Naim in the October 7 massacre, spoke at the "Zochrim Yachad" memorial ceremony for the victims of October 7 and the Swords of Iron war, held in Haifa.
Memorial Ceremony in Haifa
Mai Naim was murdered during the Nova music festival massacre. Her grandfather, Shlomo Sharf, addressed the profound pain during his speech this morning, stating, "This day is a difficult day, not only for me but for a large part of the nation. For me, Memorial Day is every day. Every night I wake up and think about what we went through here in this country." Sharf sharply criticized the state, adding, "This is not how I expected to end my life. I wanted a corrected country, a country with sanity, a country that operates in a way that provides answers to its citizens and not a country that cares about its own seats."
Sharf spoke about the failure that allowed the terrible massacre: "I stand here today to remember and remind of those people who were murdered simply because they were Jews. More than 80 years ago, the Jewish people were without a state, without an army, and without the ability to defend themselves. The disaster that occurred here on October 7 happened in the State of Israel, a country that has an army, police, and numerous security forces, which failed to protect."
Lessons to Be Learned
During the ceremony, MK and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz also spoke, addressing the lessons to be drawn from the massacre:
The seventh of October is the hardest disaster we have experienced since the establishment of the state, it is the biggest failure we have experienced, and it is also a wake-up call for us as a society. On October 7 we failed as a country and absorbed the most painful blow and won as society. We won because we chose to fight. We won because we united. We won because we hugged the families, the commanders who failed. And we will defeat our enemies, only if we continue to do it together.
At the center of the ceremony was the lighting of six memorial torches, dedicated to the memory of the murdered and fallen. The event was initiated by the "Yad Ezer Le-Haver" association, bringing together bereaved families, Holocaust survivors, October 7 survivors, fighters, and public representatives.
