October 7 Memorial Ceremony Hosts Announced for 2025

The Komu movement and October 7 families announced Sunday that former hostage Eli Sharabi and actress Shani Cohen will host the third national memorial ceremony for the October 7 attacks. The event will take place Wednesday, October 7, at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv and will be broadcast on major Israeli media channels and screened at community gatherings worldwide.

Sharabi was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Be'eri and held captive by Hamas for 491 days. He lost his wife Lian, his two daughters Noya and Yahel, and his brother Yossi Sharabi, who was murdered in captivity.

In a statement, Sharabi explained: "I am fulfilling what I promised my wife Lian, my daughters Noya and Yahel, and my brother Yossi of blessed memory, that they will never be forgotten, nor will what happened to them and to us."

"October 7 must remain engraved in our hearts as an iron date forever," Sharabi added. "We cannot blur it, and we cannot let time erase it. This terrible day must not pass without a national, central, and meaningful ceremony. The pain still touches us everywhere, and I know this will be a charged and difficult moment. But I will stand there with all the strength and love I receive from you, to honor the murdered and the fallen, the bereaved families, and all the people of Israel."

Joining Sharabi will be actress Shani Cohen, who has accompanied many families through their grief since the war began. "October 7 is a significant event in all our lives," Cohen said. "I have accompanied many families and people in their loss from then until today, and I am proud to host the ceremony alongside a person who chose life despite everything he went through. It moves me deeply—our strength to overcome despite the terrible difficulty and to strengthen others along the way."

Omri Shafroni, who lost four family members in the Be'eri massacre and is one of the organizers of the national memorial ceremony, expressed excitement about the choice: "The national memorial ceremony expresses our deep collective pain and our shared responsibility and hope for the State of Israel. I am very moved by the hosts chosen to lead the ceremony, Eli Sharabi, whom I knew from the paths and sidewalks of Be'eri, chose life after the worst of all, and the talented Shani Cohen, who for me is a symbol of Israeliness."

The families emphasized that this year, too, they are committed to a state ceremony that is unifying and inclusive of all sectors of the population and all communities affected by the tragedy. The ceremony is being designed with great sensitivity by the affected families and communities and is funded by the general public through a crowdfunding campaign.

Details about the ceremony's start time and the list of Israeli artists and creators who have volunteered to perform will be released soon.

The families are calling on the public to continue supporting the crowdfunding campaign so they can hold the ceremony as an open park event accessible to tens of thousands of Israelis, as was done in the previous two years.