Bereaved relatives warn polarization threatens Israel's existence, demand 100-day unity fix

Moshe Shapiro wants Israelis to learn to live together with the same seriousness with which they once learned to protect wildflowers.

Shapiro’s son Aner was killed on October 7, 2023, while throwing grenades from a roadside shelter to protect other Nova music festival attendees. Shapiro is now a leading voice for Hamechane, an initiative that includes bereaved relatives, captivity survivors, and war-wounded individuals. The group has set a deadline for the next government to create a national framework for social cohesion within its first 100 days.

The name Hamechane translates to “the denominator,” reflecting a search for common ground. Ahead of the upcoming elections, Shapiro spoke with Hoda Daxa and Shai Zohar. Daxa’s husband, Col. Ehsan Daxa, who commanded the 401st Armored Brigade, died in northern Gaza in October 2024. Zohar is the uncle of Capt. Omer Neutra, a New York-born soldier killed on October 7 whose body was returned in November 2025.

Zohar identified internal polarization as the country’s greatest existential threat. He stated that divisions existing before October 7 helped cause the catastrophe. “Unity is an operating system, an approach,” Zohar said, noting that Israel has already paid an immense price. He admitted he did not understand the impact of the 2018 Nation-State Law on the Druze community until Daxa explained it to him. “It went over my head,” he said.

The Nation-State Law reserves national self-determination for the Jewish people and designates Hebrew as the state language. Druze critics argue it excludes a community whose soldiers serve in the military. The High Court upheld the law in 2021. In November 2023, Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif called for constitutional recognition of Druze rights, while the governing coalition promised separate legislation on the issue.

Daxa said belonging is tested in daily life. She recalled riding a train with her children while speaking Arabic and sensing discomfort from other passengers. “Hatred doesn’t distinguish,” she said. She emphasized that unity must include all communities, not just Jewish citizens. Group members vote for different parties, but they maintain an open dialogue. “We come with an open heart,” Daxa said.

Shapiro described a yearlong process of building a shared vision across religious, secular, Druze, and political lines. He cited his grandfather, Haim-Moshe Shapiro, who urged Prime Minister Levi Eshkol to expand the government before the Six Day War. In June 1967, the coalition widened to include Gahal and Rafi. Hamechane proposes using schools and workplaces to foster personal connections. Shapiro wants children to learn how to listen and handle disagreement. The group has left the specific structure of the proposed body to elected officials.