100 Days: Bereaved Families Demand National Cohesion Framework

Moshe Shapiro, whose son Aner died in the October 7, 2023 attacks, is urging the next Israeli government to treat social cohesion as a structural necessity rather than a political ideal. Speaking in the lead up to the elections, Shapiro and fellow bereaved relatives outlined a demand for a national framework to be adopted within the first 100 days of the new administration.

The initiative, known as Hamechane, draws its name from the Hebrew term for the denominator, a mathematical reference to the search for common ground. The coalition includes families of the fallen, survivors of captivity, and those wounded in the war with Gaza. Their proposal mirrors the 1960s wildflower protection campaign, which paired legal statutes with public education to embed conservation into national consciousness. Shapiro seeks a similar institutional mechanism to enforce mutual respect across political and religious lines.

Shai Zohar, uncle of New York native Capt. Omer Neutra, identified internal polarization as a primary existential threat. Neutra was killed on October 7 and his body was returned from Gaza in November 2025. Zohar argued that pre-war divisions facilitated the catastrophe and stated that unity functions as an operating system for the state. He noted that Israel has already paid an immense price and warned against slipping backward into fragmentation.

Hoda Daxa, whose husband Col. Ehsan Daxa was killed in northern Gaza in October 2024, emphasized the need for inclusion beyond the Jewish majority. A Druze, she pointed to the 2018 Nation-State Law, which defines Hebrew as the state language and reserves self-determination for the Jewish people, as a source of tension for her community. Daxa recalled sensing discomfort on a train while speaking Arabic, illustrating how belonging is tested in daily interactions. She stressed that unity requires acknowledging that many non-Jewish citizens already feel part of Israeli society and wish to contribute.

The group has spent a year building a shared vision among religious and secular Jews, haredim, Druze, and members of the political right and left. Shapiro cited his grandfather, Haim-Moshe Shapiro, who urged the inclusion of opposition parties in the 1967 government as a historical precedent for broad coalitions. The Hamechane members plan to implement their vision through schools, workplaces, and communities, with specific measures to address online hatred. They have left the precise structural details to elected officials and professionals, aiming to institutionalize the practice of listening and disagreement management.

The demand for a 100-day deadline places immediate pressure on the incoming leadership to prioritize social infrastructure. The group’s approach relies on the premise that institutionalizing respect can mitigate the risks of future conflicts, a stance supported by the diverse membership that includes families from opposing political camps.