Rom Braslavski, who survived Hamas captivity, has accused organisers of the national October 7th memorial of blocking him from speaking at the ceremony and honouring the security team killed at the Nova festival. In a post published Tuesday evening, Braslavski called the event a "political ceremony" and told organiser Yonatan Shamriz in a private exchange: "I'm not letting this pass quietly."
"Listen brother, I don't want to interfere, but it's chutzpah that you won't let me speak at the ceremony and honour my friends from security," Braslavski wrote to Shamriz. He added: "Why should you take ownership of the October 7th ceremony and decide who speaks and who doesn't? I'm a hostage survivor and I want to speak." Braslavski said he wanted to honor his friends and made clear he would oppose any arrangement that denied him the chance to speak.
Shamriz replied that "we didn't take ownership of the 7/10 memorial and everyone can honour their friends and loved ones in any way they choose." He noted that another ceremony will be held at the kibbutz the same day, several hours before the "Kumu" movement's event, and added that decisions are made by a team that includes professionals, bereaved families and hostage families.
Shamriz wrote that "so many people were hurt," and explained that to tell everyone's story on a single stage, "we'd need to extend the ceremony to a month." According to him, hundreds of bereaved families and hostage families are expected in the audience, and he hopes Braslavski will attend as well.
Shamariz is the brother of Alon Shamriz, who was killed by IDF fire.
The national memorial ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7th, at 21:15, and will be broadcast on various media outlets.
