Kibbutz Nir Oz decries Netanyahu’s attempt to drop ‘massacre’ from Oct. 7 bill

Notably, 65 members of Kibbutz Nir Oz were murdered by Hamas during the massacre, and another 83 were taken hostage.

Kibbutz Nir Oz slammed the Prime Minister’s Office’s request to remove the word “massacre” from the proposed October 7 remembrance bill in favor of “events” or “incidents.”

“We condemn attempts by elements of the government to erase the massacre that took place on Oct 7 from the collective memory, and in doing so, note that they become part of those who deny it,” the kibbutz shared in a Sunday statement.

“Every person, every family, every home, and every path in Nir Oz bore witness to the massacre that occurred.”

Sixty-five members of Nir Oz were murdered by Hamas during the massacre, and another 83 were taken hostage, including four who managed to escape, and three who were murdered along the route to the Gaza Strip.

Slain hostage Amiram Cooper, one of the kibbutz’s founders, was the last hostage from Nir Oz to be returned home.

The community concluded its statement by calling on the government to “recognize the massacre, begin investigating it, act to rebuild the kibbutz, ensure the security of its residents, and guarantee housing for those who cannot return to Nir Oz.”

Removing ‘massacre’ in favor of ‘events’ or ‘incidents’

PMO representative Yoel Elbaz presented the position last week at a Knesset Education, Culture, and Sports Committee meeting convened to advance the bill, sparking outrage among bereaved families in attendance.

Rather than using the word “massacre” in the bill’s title, Elbaz said that the Prime Minister’s Office decided that the wording for the attacks should be “events” and “incidents.”

“We went through a lot of strategy and decided to call it ‘events’ and ‘incidents,’ because it wasn’t only a massacre; there was also a massacre, and the word appears later in the proposed text,” Elbaz told the panel, referencing the Events of 1929, also known as the “1929 Palestine riots,” as precedent.

“The 1929 events were called that [events], not the ‘1929 massacre,’” he said, “because remembrance builds resilience.”

Acting committee chair MK Yosef Taieb (Shas) said that the word “massacre” had indeed been removed from the bill’s title for now. He added that the matter would be discussed again before a final committee vote.

The PMO later issued a clarification stating that the word “massacre” appears throughout the proposed bill. It added that the purpose of the bill is to commemorate the events of October 7 “in their full severity and scope.”

“The PMO is committed to a comprehensive and truthful commemoration of all aspects of the events, without blurring of omission, and is working to advance the bill in that spirit,” the statement said.

Keshet Neev and Peled Arbeli contributed to this report.