Bereaved Brother Erupts at Katz Over Hamas Kidnap Plans

Menachem Kalmanson, an Israel Prize laureate who lost his brother Elchanan in the Simchat Torah battles and his nephew Padia Mark in subsequent fighting, published a blistering social media post Tuesday morning attacking Defense Minister Israel Katz over reports that Hamas is preparing to kidnap a soldier.

The post came just days before the third yahrzeit of his brother Elchanan, who fell in battle at Kibbutz Be'eri while rescuing dozens of residents from Hamas terrorists. "So Hamas is preparing to kidnap a soldier, and what's the defense minister's response? If you carry it out, you'll be punished," Kalmanson wrote sharply.

He warned that recent events clearly demonstrate that the State of Israel has returned to a policy of containment and reaction rather than taking initiative and striking the enemy. He cited the video of the terrorist who infiltrated a Yellow Line outpost and spared soldiers' lives only out of the "goodness of his heart."

In a personal appeal to Minister Katz, Kalmanson reminded him of their meeting in his office and the explicit promises he received that Israel would not return to that same point of failure. "In ten days it's Elchanan's memorial, exactly three years. Hundreds of days of reserve duty, we did everything. But you're taking us back to that same point," he charged painfully.

According to him, the central blame lies in passive waiting for action from the terror organization instead of preempting and initiating forceful dismantling. He closed his charged words with a heartbreaking question: "You expect us to vote for you? But what will you do there? What will you do that you're not doing now?"

The post came one day after Minister Katz issued an unusual warning to Hamas, cautioning that "if one soldier or Israeli civilian is kidnapped. all of Gaza City will be evacuated southward." The warning was delivered at a memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Yom Kippur War, "in light of various intentions and intelligence."

Defense Minister Israel Katz delivering his address (Photo: Ministry of Defense)

Elchanan Kalmanson, a Mossad officer, was killed on the morning of Simchat Torah 5784 while rescuing residents of Kibbutz Be'eri. Together with his brother Menachem and nephew Itiel, they arrived at the kibbutz in the evening hours and operated for 19 consecutive hours under heavy fire, extracting close to one hundred residents.

The story of Elchanan's heroism will be incorporated into the curriculum in Israel's education systems, the Ministry of Education announced. His brother Menachem's defining speech when receiving the Israel Prize will also be integrated into the curriculum, with students viewing it and engaging with its meanings.