A committee photo for the manner of recognizing and honoring the abductees and civilians who participated in the fighting

Under the guidance of the Chief of the General Staff, Major General Herzi Halevi, and with the approval of the Minister of Defense, Yoav Galant, the head of the IDF Personnel Division, Major General Yaniv Asor, appointed an advisory committee to the Chief of Staff to examine the manner of recognizing and honoring abductees and civilians who participated in combat or in unique situations during the war. The committee will begin its activities as soon as possible and submit its recommendations to the Chief of Staff by June 30, 2024.

The committee was appointed against the background of the events of the Seventh of October and the Iron Swords War, which raised complex and painful issues concerning bereavement, memory and heroism. The advisory committee will examine the appropriate way of recognition and appreciation, including the need to change the existing situation, in order to respond to the unique cases at this time.

The committee must formulate its recommendations in relation to the following matters: a policy for recognizing the fallen, including as IDF martyrs, in unique cases, a policy for honoring civilians in unique cases in a combat environment, the manner of recognition in individual cases, such as unusual circumstances of death, ways of regulating the committee's recommendations, including the need for legislative amendments .

The committee will be chaired by Major General Moti Baruch and its members are the President of the Military Court of Appeals, Major General Orli Markman, Brigadier General (Res.) Asher Ben Lulu, Deputy Head of the Division and Head of the Soldier's Commemoration Unit at the Ministry of Defense, Herzl Shmuel, former casualty officer, AL M (res.) Jocelyn Bash, Chairman of the Public Council to Commemorate the Soldier Professor Shlomo Mor Yosef, Rabbi Professor Yigal Shafran, and Dr. Shimon Azoulai.