Respect memorial days, over 90 MKs call in open letter

Over 90 Knesset members signed a petition circulated by National Unity MK Chili Tropper on Thursday calling for Israelis to respect the upcoming days of remembrance and not to disrupt them for political reasons.

"The bereaved families' pain and the memory of the Holocaust do not belong to the Left or Right, to the supporters of the government or its opposers," the letter began.

Tropper wrote that Israel was experiencing one of its hardest moments, but that the days of remembrance were an opportunity to converge on shared values.

"The dispute is legitimate, but if we lose this beacon of Israeli cooperation, if we turn off our light, the storm may drown us all," Tropper wrote.

"The sons and daughters buried in the military cemeteries came from all of the groups and tribes," he wrote, and called on all sides of the dispute to respect their memory.

Rare consensus among opposing forces

The letter created rare consensus and was signed by over three-quarters of the Knesset's MKs from both sides of the aisle.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev tried to convince fellow Likud members to sign a different letter of her own, which also included calls not to disrupt independence celebrations, but her letter was largely ignored. Previously the Culture and Sports Minister, Regev demanded to retain in the current government her power over the branch that deals with national ceremonies and holidays. As such she is responsible for the annual Independence Day national ceremony, which protesters against the government's judicial reforms have threatened to disrupt.

A number of civil organizations announced their support for Tropper's call, as did National Unity chairman MK Benny Gantz.

"We are approaching the holiest days in the Israeli calendar and alongside the important and just struggle for Israel's democratic character, we have the duty to safeguard the honor of our heroes, who are the silver platters upon which the country was founded and grew, and because of whom we are standing here today," Gantz wrote on Twitter.