For the first time, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi will all miss today's annual state memorial for the 2014 Gaza war. All three are attending the IDF officer course graduation held at the same hour. The government was initially sending only a deputy minister, but after criticism, Minister Shlomo Kar'iv was assigned to represent the Cabinet. The IDF says the scheduling overlap was made in good faith and will be reviewed. The Prime Minister's Office and Defense Minister's Office have not apologized to bereaved families.
This morning's report by Moriah Asraf and Doron Kadosh on Army Radio (Galei Tzahal) details an unprecedented absence at the annual state memorial for Operation Protective Edge, the 2014 Gaza war. Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Katz, and Chief of Staff Halevi are all attending the IDF officer course graduation, which was scheduled for the same hour at the IDF officers' school in southern Israel.
In response to Asraf and Kadosh's initial report yesterday, which noted that no senior minister was initially assigned to represent the government at the ceremony, the government secretariat assigned Minister Shlomo Kar'iv (Likud) to attend. Previously, only Deputy Minister Almog Cohen was slated to represent the Cabinet.
The IDF said in an official response that the scheduling conflict was made in good faith and that it would review how the two ceremonies were set at the same time. The Deputy Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, will attend the Protective Edge memorial in place of Halevi.
The Prime Minister's Office has not commented, and directed inquiries back to the Defense Ministry, which sent a follow-up statement arguing that the annual ceremony is a routine state event, not a decennial state commemoration, and therefore protocol does not mandate the participation of the premier, defense minister, or chief of staff. Bereaved families and opposition figures have criticized the absence.
2 developments
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- DevelopingPM Netanyahu: 'Nation's heart aches' after four soldiers killed in Lebanon
- StrongNetanyahu meets Deri and Gafni after coalition heads meeting canceled
- ConfirmedPM Netanyahu cancels Karnei Shomron event for second time, cites security developments
Source and signal
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- Internal intake