Families of the Fallen Set 100-Day Deadline for New Unity Law

Moshe Shapiro, Hoda Daxa, and Shai Zohar have asked Israel’s next government to draft a national framework for social cohesion within the first 100 days of its term. The trio leads Hamechane, an initiative that unites bereaved families, captivity survivors, and wounded soldiers under a shared goal. They view this legal structure as essential to stabilizing the country ahead of the upcoming elections.

Shapiro’s son, Aner, was killed on October 7, 2023, while defending fellow music festival attendees. Daxa’s husband, Col. Ehsan Daxa, led the 401st Armored Brigade and died in northern Gaza in October 2024. Zohar lost his nephew, Capt. Omer Neutra, a lone soldier from New York, to the October 7 attacks; his body was returned from Gaza in November 2025.

The group cites the 1960s wildflower campaign as a model for their approach. That initiative combined legal protection with public education until the cause became familiar to generations of children. Shapiro wants a similar level of ingrained respect for others, even when deep disagreement persists, to define Israeli public life.

Zohar described internal polarization as the nation’s greatest existential threat. He argued that pre-existing divisions contributed to the October 7 catastrophe and warned that Israel cannot slip backward. "Unity is an operating system, an approach," he said. He noted that the nation has "already paid an immense price" for its internal fractures.

Daxa, who is Druze, highlighted the personal impact of the 2018 Nation-State Law. She recalled a moment on a train where she spoke Arabic with her children and sensed discomfort among passengers. "Hatred doesn't distinguish," she said. She emphasized that unity must extend beyond Jewish solidarity to include all communities who feel part of Israeli society.

The Nation-State Law reserves national self-determination for the Jewish people and defines Hebrew as the state language. It grants Arabic special status but lacks an explicit equality guarantee. The High Court upheld the law in 2021. In November 2023, Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif called for constitutional recognition of the community's rights, a demand the then-coalition promised to address.

Shapiro described a yearlong effort to build a shared vision among religious and secular Jews, haredim, Druze, and supporters from the Right and Left. "This is the face of Israeli society," he said. He noted that no participant had to hide their views during the process. He recalled his grandfather, Haim-Moshe Shapiro, urging Prime Minister Levi Eshkol to include opposition parties in the government before the Six-Day War in 1967.

The group has not yet determined the specific structure of the body it seeks to create. They have left that task to elected officials and professionals. Hamechane hopes to encourage personal connections through schools, workplaces, and communities. Shapiro wants children to learn how to listen and handle disagreement, and he seeks measures to curb online activity that inflames hatred.

Daxa stated that recognizing polarization as a national danger would be a starting point. Shapiro stressed that the initiative asks people to listen and make room for others, rather than sacrifice their lives. The group plans to continue its dialogue as the new cabinet takes office.