100 Days: Bereaved Families Demand National Cohesion Framework from Next Israeli Cabinet

Moshe Shapiro, Hoda Daxa, and Shai Zohar have set a deadline for the next Israeli government: draft a national framework for social cohesion within the first 100 days. The three are part of Hamechane, an initiative comprising bereaved families, captivity survivors, and war wounded that argues internal polarization poses a greater existential threat than external enemies.

Shapiro’s son, Aner, died on October 7, 2023, while defending Nova music festival attendees. Daxa’s husband, Colonel Ehsan Daxa, was killed in northern Gaza in October 2024 while commanding the 401st Armored Brigade. Zohar is the uncle of Captain Omer Neutra, a lone soldier from New York killed on October 7 whose remains were returned in November 2025. The group’s name translates to "the denominator," symbolizing the search for common ground.

Shapiro points to the 1960s wildflower protection campaign as a model, noting it combined legal standards with public education until the cause became ingrained in the culture. He seeks to apply that same rigor to mutual respect. Zohar stated that unity functions as an "operating system" and warned that Israel has "already paid an immense price" for division. He acknowledged that he did not fully grasp the impact of the 2018 Nation-State Law on the Druze community until hearing Daxa describe it.

The 2018 law reserves national self-determination to the Jewish people and grants Hebrew status as the state language. It was upheld by the High Court in 2021. Daxa, a Druze woman, described sensing discomfort on public trains when speaking Arabic with her children. She emphasized that unity must extend beyond Jewish solidarity and that group members, who vote for different parties, engage in dialogue with an "open heart."

Shapiro described a yearlong process building a shared vision among religious, secular, haredi, and Druze members from the political Right and Left. He cited his grandfather, Haim-Moshe Shapiro, who urged Prime Minister Levi Eshkol in 1967 to include opposition parties in the cabinet ahead of the Six Day War. That coalition eventually included Menachem Begin’s Gahal and Rafi, which featured future Defense Minister Moshe Dayan.

The group proposes encouraging personal connections through schools and workplaces and implementing measures against online hatred. They have left the specific structure of the proposed body to elected officials. Daxa stated that recognizing polarization as a national danger would be a start. Shapiro clarified that the goal is not to erase differences but to ensure that disagreement does not cancel mutual obligations.

Aner Shapiro had written a social media post before his death criticizing rigid political categories after graffiti defaced an image of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He wrote, "There really is no 'them.'" Moshe Shapiro said he believes such divisions were fading during his son’s shiva but now feels disappointed by their resurgence.