Petitions to Israel’s top court seeking a full-fledged commission of inquiry into October 7 are disrupted by bereaved families threatening other bereaved families. Guess who stands to gain.

On April 23, seven Israeli Supreme Court justices convened in Jerusalem as a panel of the High Court of Justice. Rather than hearing appeals against the verdicts of lesser courts, the High Court of Justice hears petitions against the government brought by people like you and me.

The petition being heard this day concerned government foot-dragging on the establishment of a commission of inquiry into October 7, 2023 – into the events of that day, what led to them and what resulted from them. It was brought by several government watchdog groups as well as simple citizens who lost loved ones on that fateful day or in its wake.

IN ISRAEL, WE ALWAYS SAY that you cannot argue with a member of a bereaved family, which is shorthand for people who have lost relatives to war or terror attacks. You cannot shut them up when they speak out at private or public gatherings, even those as sacrosanct as memorial ceremonies. The unstated rule is that they have the floor by virtue of having had someone taken from them in the name of the so-called Zionist enterprise. It is the rest of us who must shut up. And rightfully so.

This approach generally works when the angry comments are directed at government officials who bear responsibility for the deadly event. After all, government officials in a democracy must answer to the public, no matter how ugly the comments get.

But things get dicey on the rare occasion when those raising their voices aim their ire at members of other bereaved........

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