Current sectionIsrael NewsThe ceremony, absent an official one organized by the state, will take place on the anniversary of the massacre in Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv. Eli Sharabi: 'Time mustn't let us forget'Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeEli Sharabi, speaking at a vigil at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv last year. Credit: Nir KeidarEli Sharabi, speaking at a vigil at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv last year. Credit: Nir Keidar07:38 PM • August 30 2026 IDTFormer hostage Eli Sharabi and Israeli actress Shani Cohen will host the third grassroots memorial ceremony for the October 7 massacre.Bereaved families, former captives, representatives of affected communities and artists will participate in the event, in Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv on October 7, the Kumu movement, which is organizing it, announced on Sunday. In the absence of a state memorial ceremony, the the grassroots ceremony will effectively be the only one on that day. Kumu, an NGO founded in 2024, has launched a crowdfunding campaign for it.Sharabi is a resident of Kibbutz Be'eri, one of the Gaza border communities overrun by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Hamas released him as part of the second deal in February 2025 after 491 days in captivity. After his release, he learned that his wife, Liyan, and their two daughters, Noya and Yahel, were murdered in the Hamas attack, while his brother Yossi Sharabi was murdered in captivity."October 7 must be forever etched in our hearts as a day of resilience," Sharabi said. "Time mustn't let us forget. This terrible day mustn't pass without a national, central and meaningful ceremony. The pain still touches us everywhere, and I know this will be an emotional and challenging event."Cohen said she was "proud to host the ceremony alongside a person who chose life despite everything he went through." She added, "This is something that deeply moves me, our strength to overcome the terrible difficulty and empower others along the way."Some 25,000 people gathered in Yarkon Park for last year's ceremony.In the NewsFormer Hostage Whose Family Was Murdered on October 7 to Host Memorial CeremonyTwo Israeli Teens Charged With Spying for Iran, Photographing Shopping MallsAfter Weeks of Attacks, Palestinian Family Evicted by Order Applying to SettlersMasked Israeli Settlers Attack NBC News Crew in West BankWhat Was Mexico's Ex-president Doing at Israel's Biggest Pop Star's Wedding?Remembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIHasan Piker Talks Hamas, anti-Zionism and Why Americans Are Fed Up With Israel'Israel Is Sending Militias to Commit War Crimes – and I Have to Protect Them'Israeli Court Acquits Man of Assaulting Nun in Jerusalem's Old CityPoll: Likud Sinks to 19 Seats as New Right-wing Party Falls Below ThresholdJewish Space Lasers? Israel Wants 'Rods From God'Ben-Gvir's Ambush Shook Netanyahu – and Unleashed a War for Right-wing Votes