Israeli Families of Hostages and Fallen Launch 'HaMachane' to Fight Polarization
Bereaved families, released hostages, and wounded soldiers launched 'HaMachane', a national initiative to bridge severe social divides ahead of Israel's elections.
Just three weeks before the upcoming elections and near the third anniversary of the October 7 disaster, an extraordinary call is being issued by those who have borne the heaviest price of war and terror. Bereaved families, released hostages, their relatives, and IDF wounded from across the political and social spectrum in Israel announced today the launch of "HaMachane" (The Camp), a broad national initiative aimed at strengthening social cohesion and reducing polarization within Israeli society.
The movement was born out of encounters between Israelis with vastly different worldviews who discovered through grief, injury, and captivity that it is possible to view disagreement differently: to disagree, yet still act together. Among the founders are Merav Berger (mother of released hostage Agam Berger), Shir Siegel (daughter of Keith and Aviva Siegel), Merav Leshem Gonen (mother of released hostage Romi Gonen), Chen Avigdori, released hostage Avinatan Or, Noam Idan Ben Ezra, IDF soldier Ari Spitz, Tzvi Zusman, Huda Dexa, Gideon Bogale, Genia and Shai Tzohar, Moshe Shapira, and others.
The initiators warn that internal division is no longer merely a political argument, but a clear danger to the security of the state. An assessment by the Jewish People Policy Institute for 2026 reinforces this position: 55% of Israelis point to polarization as the most dangerous threat to Israel - a proportion much higher than those pointing to the Iranian nuclear threat (23%) or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (18%).
Demand from the Government and the "Ten Million Connections" Goal
At the center of "HaMachane"'s activity lies an unequivocal demand from party leaders and the future government to be formed after the elections: to establish within the first 100 days of its term a permanent national infrastructure for social cohesion that will map the roots of polarization and formulate a multi-year strategy in cooperation with the education system, local authorities, the business sector, and civil society.
Simultaneously with the governmental demand, the initiative's members are setting an ambitious goal for the general public as well: ten million new connections - one connection for every Israeli. The campaign has already launched on social media, with citizens uploading stories and photos of encounters and conversations with people from camps, sectors, and communities different from their own.
Keren Sokolov, CEO of "To Live Together" and founder of the initiative, emphasizes: "> October 7 proved how much power we have when we act together, but we must not need the next disaster to remind us of this. Polarization is a threat to our ability to continue living here as a single society. Ten million new connections can change the way Israelis see one another."
Ari Spitz, a Givati soldier who was severely wounded in Gaza, added: "> We paid a very heavy price for this country, and now our responsibility is to protect the society that lives in it. We must not reach a situation where we stop seeing each other. We don't need to agree on everything to remain a single society."
Chen Avigdori, whose wife and daughter were kidnapped and released from captivity, concluded: "> We became accustomed to speaking in terms of 'you' in plural instead of 'you' in singular. That's what happens when you see the person opposite you as part of a group rather than as an individual. If more Israelis personally get to know someone who is not from their camp and speak with them openly, it will be much harder to divide us."
