Families of the Fallen Set 100 Day Clock for New Cohesion Law

Moshe Shapiro wants Israelis to treat social unity with the same discipline they once applied to protecting wildflowers. His son, Aner, died on October 7, 2023, while throwing grenades from a roadside shelter to protect other Nova music festival attendees. Shapiro is now part of Hamechane, a group of bereaved relatives pushing for a national mandate on social cohesion.

The group is asking the next government to establish a comprehensive framework for social cohesion within its first 100 days. Shapiro points to the 1960s wildflower campaign as a model. That initiative combined legal protections with public education until the cause became part of the national identity. He believes respect for others, even during deep disagreements, should reach the same level of ingrained cultural value.

Hamechane members include families of the fallen, captivity survivors, and those wounded in the Israel-Gaza War. The name translates to "the denominator," referring to the search for common ground. Ahead of the elections, Shapiro spoke with Hoda Daxa and Shai Zohar. Zohar is the uncle of Capt. Omer Neutra, a New York soldier killed on October 7 whose body was returned in November 2025. Daxa is the widow of Col. Ehsan Daxa, who was killed leading troops in northern Gaza in October 2024.

Zohar described internal polarization as the country's greatest existential threat. He argued that divisions existing before October 7 contributed to the catastrophe. "Unity is an operating system, an approach," he said. He warned that Israel cannot slip backward after paying what he called an immense price. Zohar admitted he did not fully grasp the impact of the 2018 Nation-State Law on the Druze community until Daxa explained it to him.

The Nation-State Law reserves national self-determination for the Jewish people and designates Hebrew as the state language. Druze critics argue the law excludes a community whose soldiers fight for the state. The High Court upheld the law in 2021. In November 2023, Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif called for constitutional recognition of the community's rights.

Daxa noted that belonging is tested in everyday moments. She recalled a train ride where she spoke Arabic with her children and sensed discomfort from other passengers. "Hatred doesn't distinguish," she said. She emphasized that unity cannot mean solidarity among Jews alone. Group members vote for different parties, but they prioritize learning over assuming one side is correct.

Shapiro described a yearlong process to build a shared vision among religious and secular Jews, haredim, Druze, and political opposites. He cited his grandfather, Haim-Moshe Shapiro, who urged Prime Minister Levi Eshkol to expand the government before the Six Day War in 1967. That expansion included Gahal and Rafi, bringing in leaders like Menachem Begin and Moshe Dayan.

The group hopes to encourage personal connections through schools, workplaces, and communities. Shapiro wants children to learn how to listen and handle disagreement, and he seeks measures against online activity that inflames hatred. The group has not decided on the specific structure of the body it seeks to create. Daxa said recognizing polarization as a national danger would be a first step. Shapiro stressed he is not asking for sacrifices of life, only for people to listen and make room for others.

Aner Shapiro expressed a similar outlook in a social media post written before his death. He criticized categories like religious and secular, writing that there really is no "them." Moshe Shapiro said he believed such divisions were fading during his son's shiva. He now feels disappointment at their return. The group leaves the technical details of the cohesion framework to elected officials and professionals.