Shira Shapira: "Ener would have told me to act, there is a crisis of trust in leadership"

If until now we knew Shira Shapira as the mother of Ener (of blessed memory), the hero who protected with his body and repelled grenades in the shelter of death on October 7th - now she is beginning her path on the public stage and entering the deep waters of politics.

In her first interview since choosing to join the "Beit Tzioni" ("Zionist Home") party of Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel, Shapira tells why she chose them specifically, what values she will demand to promote in politics - and what Ener would have said to her, in her opinion, if he were here to consult with her.

Why did you actually decide to enter the political arena?

"For more than two decades I have been in public service. I have held roles that have significance on a national level, and I have led moves that are important for the entire State of Israel. This is what I have done all my life. But after October 7th, something else happened: to me, personally, the worst happened - and to us, as a country, the worst happened. Slowly, the understanding crystallized in me that I must do everything so that it will be better here. Now, with the entry into politics, I feel that I am connecting to the deepest thing that Ener believed in and wrote about, and also did on that shocking morning. He stood at the entrance to the shelter and decided that he would save the lives of people he didn't even know, and when he understood that he wouldn't be able to continue repelling the grenades - he asked those who were with him to continue after him."

"I listen to him and ask myself what to do. I didn't plan to enter the political arena, I wanted to remain in the professional arena. But I told myself that this is what I need to do to continue Ener's concept: that it is possible to connect Israeli society and work together, and bring leadership that is worthy of its people."

Would Ener have supported your entry into political life?

"I am constantly hearing him and literally talking to him, because I am so used to talking to him. I am sure that Ener would have said to me: 'If this is what you think you need to do, then do it to the end. I am behind you, be real and authentic'. He always supported me in public work, so he would have supported me now too - it is a direct continuation of what I did in public service."

"The government is not listening"

What did you see from the inside that caused you to say: "Wow, the leadership needs to be replaced, it's not enough to work in government ministries"?

"The entire Israeli society experienced a crisis of trust with the leadership. Israelis feel that the government's decision-making does not see their needs. It's not just on October 7th, when people were abandoned to sit alone and hold the door of the safe room; it's also in the period since, when the government was not there enough for the citizens. People need to feel that their leaders are working for them and see them as a goal. This basic trust was broken, and we must renew it."

Message to Religious Zionism

If I am a person of Religious Zionism, why should I vote for you and not for Ben Gvir or Smotrich, for example?

"I am a religious Zionist woman, and I think that the leadership of Religious Zionism has become confused and has forgotten the values of its population. My husband's grandfather, Moshe Chaim Shapira, who was the founder of the Mafdal movement, created the guidelines of Religious Zionism: he is the one who signed the first unity government in 1967, he is the one who worked to include the Irgun into the 'Hagana' and to be part of the IDF in 1948.

"He saw the values of mutual guarantee and unity as basic and necessary values for the State of Israel. These are the values that anyone who defines themselves as religious-national must insist on, to understand the magnitude of the hour and the need of the State of Israel. Anyone who identifies with these values should vote for us, because we are here to ensure that this glorious Religious Zionism will ensure that the State of Israel continues to live together and grow and flourish."

Morality is critical

What do you think Ener would have said if he had seen the situation that Israeli society has reached? The glue that held us for seven decades threatens to fall apart.

"I don't need to tell you what he would have said, I can tell you what he said. In August 2023, during the judicial reform, he wrote a poem about it: 'Today I am fighting against the hatred of brothers and sisters'. He wanted to fight the polarization, the cataloging and the separation that exists in the people, and to look for love in the streets, just between strangers. The most significant line was at the end: 'We have not yet reached the point of no return - there will be a realization of a vision here'. It is possible to make a correction. We must work together and hard to realize the vision.

"I want to say one more thing that you didn't ask, but it is especially important to me: I entered for the young people. Our Ener, and this is not a cliché, will remain young forever. But through the young people who continue to live here I imagine Ener growing up here, and I say: they are the ones we need to focus on. They gave so much, and now they need to receive above and beyond to have a good and full life here. I am coming to work for them."