Herzog said to host secret talks with bereaved families on forming Oct. 7 state probe

Unsourced report claims participants asked to sign confidentiality forms; Herzog’s office says President’s Residence serves as space for ‘open dialogue’ on all issues

President Isaac Herzog has been quietly convening consultations in recent months at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem aimed at reaching an agreement for establishing a widely sought state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre, Channel 12 reported on Wednesday, without citing any sources.

According to the report, participants in the closed-door discussions have included representatives of bereaved families from the so-called October Council — a large group of families who lost loved ones on October 7 and who are calling for a state probe — and with members of the hawkish Gvura Forum, which represents dozens of families of soldiers killed in the ensuing two-year war against Hamas in Gaza.

The unsourced report alleged that the four representatives of the two forums — Yehoshua Shani and Menachem Klemenson of the Gvura Forum, and Eyal Eshel and Reut Hecht-Edri of the October Council — were required to sign confidentiality agreements barring them from disclosing the existence of the meetings or their contents.

The group has been meeting once every two weeks, Channel 12 reported, and as recently as within the past month.

Herzog has long insisted that the only correct way to probe Israel’s failures in the months and years before October 7 is through a state commission of inquiry, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government remains firmly opposed to the idea and has taken steps to advance its own, alternate probe.

The Netanyahu government has refused to set up a state commission, first arguing that such an inquiry could not be conducted when the war was underway, but in more recent months claiming that such a commission — whose members are appointed by the president of the Supreme Court — would be biased against the government.

Instead, his government has begun working to establish its own probe, touting it as an “independent” investigation, even though the commission’s mandate will be determined by cabinet ministers, who will be hand-picked by the premier.

Asked by Channel 12 for comment on the report, Herzog’s office responded that “the President’s Residence fundamentally serves as a space for gathering, open dialogue, and conversation for all citizens of Israel.”

“Various forums and diverse groups meet here in different frameworks regularly for the purpose of dialogue — even when the goal is not to reach agreements, but rather simply to listen, converse, and confront the complex issues that are tearing Israeli society apart,” his office said.

“Meetings at the President’s Residence take place in a variety of formats, to enable such dialogue also among bereaved families who have lost what is most precious to them.”

The reported meetings between Herzog and the bereaved families come after an earlier attempt by the president to promote a state commission of inquiry by suggesting a change to the way in which the panel’s members are selected.

In March, Herzog and Supreme Court President Isaac Amit proposed a compromise to Netanyahu that would have required Amit to consult with his deputy, conservative justice Noam Sohlberg, when appointing the members of the state commission, to reduce the chance of the government perceiving the probe as politically biased.

But Netanyahu rejected this option, insisting that it would still be a “politically slanted” investigation.

The compromise plan was ultimately shelved, which Channel 12 said left the families of the victims increasingly frustrated, potentially prompting the president to sit down with them to discuss a new approach.

Why the initiative was kept secret, whether or not the political echelon was aware of it, and what impact any potential agreements would have on the government remain unclear, the report noted.