Letter signed by 1,000 Israelis directly affected by Oct 7 demands immediate state commission of inquiry

An open letter from almost 1,000 people impacted by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre demanded an immediate state commission of inquiry into the serious Israeli security failures on that day. The four-page letter was published in a number of major Israeli newspapers on Wednesday, including the long list of names.

Among the signatories were over 20 former hostages, as well as hundreds of bereaved families and survivors, along with wounded IDF soldiers and reservists. According to The Jerusalem Post, this initiative is driven by the October Council, which represents families directly impacted by the Oct. 7 attack, which led to the deaths of 1,200 men, women and children, and 251 people, dead and alive, taken hostage into the Gaza Strip.

The signatories insisted they would “oppose any attempt to establish a politicized cover-up commission” and refused to accept the validity of any probe "in which the targets of the investigation appoint the investigators".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition have so far rebuffed calls for a state commission of inquiry, believing that selections made by the chief justice of the Supreme Court would be politically slanted against them. The government has also stated that any investigation must wait until after the war.

Such an inquiry would carry the broadest powers under Israeli law to examine major failures of the nation's leaders, of which Oct. 7 could be the worst in Israel’s history. They are typically headed by a retired Supreme Court justice, such as Esther Hayut, a choice Netanyahu would oppose following her criticism of the government's judicial overhaul attempts.

The results of an independent civilian commission of inquiry released in November accused Netanyahu of undermining the government’s national security decision-making process and creating a rift between Israel’s political and military leadership, which left the country vulnerable to attack. While commenting that the findings were deeply concerning, the committee members warned they were not the same as an official probe that would have the power to subpoena witnesses.

The report charged the government with having “failed its primary mission,” along with the Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet security and other organizations that “completely failed to fulfill their sole objective – protecting the citizens of Israel.”

As much as Netanyahu has resisted a more thorough investigation, opinion polls reveal that the public, including those who support the coalition, is overwhelmingly in favor of forming a state commission of inquiry.

Posting on 𝕏, the October Council, the organization of families impacted by the massacre, demanded a response.

“It's time to give answers to the families and citizens of Israel,” they wrote.

“Again and again and again, and consistently, the people speak their mind,” the October Council wrote in another post. “We call on elected officials: Fulfill the will of the people.”