Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has banned the 13th annual alternative Memorial Day ceremony, which he calls “a desecration”, explaining “I will not lend a hand to the desecration”. The event is a joint Israeli-Palestinian event for the fallen soldiers and victims of terror, including Palestinians who feel reconciliation is a desired and obtainable possibility.

The senior minister added, “This isn’t a remembrance ceremony, but a display of bad taste and insensitivity, which offends the bereaved families, and they are dearer to us than anything else.”

Lieberman is referring to the Combatants for Peace and the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace event to be held next Tuesday evening, Memorial Day 2018, in Ganei Yehoshua Park in Tel Aviv. He banned the entry of the 110 Palestinians who planned to participate in the event.

During last year’s event, protestors carrying Israeli flags gathered outside the ceremony. The sponsors of the event explain they have brought some 600 Israeli and Palestinian bereaved families together in an effort to promote peace. Unwilling to just accept the minister’s ruling, Combatants for Peace has announced it plans to appeal the ruling with the High Court of Justice.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)