Ministry of Heritage to Kibbutz Kfar Aza: Budget for October 7 Commemoration Contingent on Government Control
Kibbutz Kfar Aza developed a plan to commemorate the October 7 massacre, but the Ministry of Heritage, led by Minister Amichai Eliyahu, offered a meager budget conditional on holding veto power over the commemoration's content. The kibbutz leadership rejected this, stating the government's only claim is to the failure itself. KKL-JNF has stepped in to provide 15 million shekels for the project.
Kibbutz Kfar Aza suffered a devastating blow during the October 7 massacre, with many of its residents killed or kidnapped. Nearly three years later, the kibbutz finalized its plans to commemorate the tragedy. However, the Ministry of Heritage, led by Minister Amichai Eliyahu, allocated only two million shekels for the project, contingent on a condition reported Friday on "Ulpan Shishi": the ministry demanded veto power over the method of commemoration.
To preserve the memory of the massacre, the kibbutz plans to relocate structures from the "Dor Tza'ir" neighborhood, establish a large memorial center, and erect a monument for the soldiers who fell defending their homes. According to representatives from Kfar Aza, the ministry conditioned the contract on a clause regarding "copyrights," which would grant the government control over how the failure is portrayed.
The chairwoman of Kibbutz Kfar Aza expressed her outrage to Channel 12 News:
"The only rights this government has over what happened are to October 7. Those are their rights. We will take care of commemorating this terrible failure ourselves."
Upon learning of the situation, KKL-JNF (Jewish National Fund) decided to provide the kibbutz with a budget of 15 million shekels. Eyal Ostrynsky, Chairman of KKL-JNF, stated that the goal is to empower the community to tell its own story:
"We acted because we realized the Israeli government was effectively conditioning support for commemoration efforts on a veto right over the nature of the memorial. We believe this is a great injustice to the kibbutz and the community; no one should demand they tell their story in a way other than how they wish to tell it."
Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu did not respond to requests for comment.
In March 2025, we broadcast harrowing security camera footage from the kibbutz, providing an extraordinary glimpse into the initial hours of the failure: the arrival of terrorists, widespread kidnappings, unchecked looting, and the movement of hundreds of Gazans between the kibbutz fence and the Strip. In total, 62 people were killed in the kibbutz, and 19 were kidnapped.
