A bill that would criminalize charging fees for Yom Zikaron [Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers and Vicitms of Terror] services and events will be discussed on Sunday by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation.
MK Moshe "Mutz" Matalon (Israel Beitenu) said the bill would prohibit charging for participation in Yom Zikaron events and that violators could face arrest.
Matalon added that Yom Zikaron events are of national consequence that touch the heart of the Zionist ethos and Israeli agenda. Charging for participation in events honoring Israel's fallen soldiers and terror victims, he said, is contrary to their essential spirit and undermines the point of the day.
Matalon said the bill is intended to ensure Yom Zikaron ceremonies not be funded by citizens attending them, especially bereaved parents who wish to take part and honor their loved ones.
The committee debate on Sunday will focus on those sections of the bill which seek to prevent the collection of payment for participation in solemn ceremonies of a communal or national nature that are organized by a public body. The bill would also apply to such events organized by any body budgeted directly or indirectly from public monies.
"It is inconceivable that people in our country are allowed to eploit national grief and mourning as a source of substantial income," Matalon said. "We as citizens, bereaved parents, soldiers fighting for peace, children of our country... we cannot allow these organizers to defile national days of commemoration for our fallen in the name of profit and expense of our national memory."
"These ceremonies bind us as a nation and justify the continuation of our struggle for our survival," Matalon added.