The Gush Etzion Regional Council will hold a Memorial Day ceremony on Tuesday at the regional ceremony in Kfar Etzion. The head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council and the chairman of the Yesha Council, Shlomo Ne'eman, issued a call to all elected officials and the general public ahead of the ceremony. "All ministers and MKs from all parties, regardless of sectarian affiliation, Torah students, male and female IDF service members, graduates of the National Service, are all invited to our memorial ceremony in Gush Etzion," he said. "Anyone who wishes to honor the fallen will be welcomed by us at our special ceremony, that we are holding together with the religious council and headed by Rabbi Rafi Ostroff," added Ne’eman. The comments come after ministers and MKs from the coalition decided against attending Memorial Day ceremonies due to planned protests by participants. MK Avigdor Liberman, who heads the Yisrael Beytenu Party, on Monday called to respect Memorial Day and leave it free of politics. "We are standing at the start of very important days for the State of Israel and Israeli society," he wrote on Twitter. "This evening will start Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers and for the Victims of Terror, and Israeli society is facing this day very upset and divided." Related articles: Watch: Memorial Day commemorated in Gaza IDF Chief of Staff embraces bereaved families IAF aircraft salute the fallen Pres. Herzog: We mourn the victims - and we will rebuild "As an elected official whose positions are known and have more than once sparked arguments, I turn to you, the citizens of Israel: Come, let us preserve, together, this important day, and keep it out of the political discourse and arguments. "Let us all put our anger, fights, and disagreements aside for a few hours and honor those who fought for the country and who fell for it and for our future here, in the Land of Israel." Liberman concluded, "We must not forget that the fallen came from all across the political spectrum, and so did their families. They all deserve that we respect this day and be worthy to stand at the sound of the siren and at the ceremonies, beside each other, in memory of those who did not merit to be with us here today."
