Two prominent Israeli figures whose lives were transformed by the October 7 Hamas-led attack officially became members of the opposition party Yisrael Beitenu this week, bringing an emotionally charged message to opposition lawmaker Avigdor Liberman’s political movement just ahead of the 1,000-day anniversary of the assault.
Sharon Sharabi — brother of former hostage Eli Sharabi and of Yossi Sharabi, who was killed while being held captive in Gaza — along with Rafi Ben Shitrit, whose son Elroy Ben Shitrit fell as an IDF soldier, addressed the party’s weekly faction gathering for the first time on Monday.
Both men described their decision to enter politics as a transition from personal sorrow to public duty. Sharabi explained that within hours of the attack, what began as individual family tragedies became, in his words, “a national disaster for an entire country.” He spoke about bereaved families, fallen soldiers, and a society still grappling with issues of security and trust. “How is it possible that 1,000 days have passed and Hamas, a Nazi terrorist organization, is still in the Gaza Strip, still trying to harm our soldiers and the citizens of the State of Israel?” Sharabi asked.
He said that under the next government, Yisrael Beitenu would work toward defeating Hamas while also pushing for a stronger, more unified Israeli society. Sharabi also spoke personally about the toll his family paid — losing his brother Yossi, his sister-in-law Lianne, and Eli’s two daughters, Noiya and Yahel. “Our mission is to pass on to the next generations a stronger, more united and safer state,” he said.
Ben Shitrit took a more overtly political tone, drawing a connection between the approaching 1,000-day milestone and the Hebrew calendar date marking the ancient breach of Jerusalem’s walls before the destruction of the Second Temple. “The symbolic connection is clear and painful,” he said, adding that on October 7, “the walls of defense and security of the State of Israel were breached.”
Ben Shitrit said the Israeli public has spent 1,000 days waiting for answers. He argued that only an independent state commission of inquiry — one operating outside of political influence — could properly investigate what went wrong before and during the attack, including intelligence failures and government decisions made in the years prior. He placed ultimate responsibility on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying Netanyahu’s continued resistance to such a commission only erodes public trust further.
He also rejected the idea of forming a broad national unity government under Netanyahu, calling it a political tactic and arguing that the same leadership responsible for divisive policies and the failures that preceded October 7 cannot credibly position itself as a unifying force.
Ben Shitrit said his motivation for entering public life goes beyond anger — he wants to bring “responsibility, truth, service, pioneering and dedication” back to the center of Israeli politics. He praised Liberman as a leader with experience, strategic clarity, and firm stances on Hamas, Hezbollah, military service, and governing. “I joined Yisrael Beitenu because Avigdor Liberman and Yisrael Beitenu tell the truth, even when it hurts,” he said.
The addition of both men gives Yisrael Beitenu two new faces whose personal stories directly tie the party’s political platform to the still-open wounds of October 7 — including calls for a state inquiry, the grief of bereaved families, and the argument that Israel’s future government must be grounded in accountability rather than political self-preservation.
