The Knesset plenum approved the second and third readings of the Orphans' Families Day bill in Israel, proposed by MKs Yosef Taieb, Yinon Azoulay, Avraham Bezalel and Moshe Abutbul.
Seven Knesset members supported the proposal, with none opposing or abstaining.
The bill proposes that an annual day of commemoration be held on the 25th day of Kislev for the families of orphans, to be marked by special sessions in the Knesset plenum and in some of its committees.
In addition, a special hearing will be held at the Guardian General’s office, with the participation of government ministries and other entities involved in promoting the rights and needs of the orphans' families, as well as at the residence of the President of the State of Israel, as to be decided by the President.
It is also proposed to authorize the Minister of Culture and Sport to order additional methods of commemoration within the jurisdiction of his ministry's activities, subject to a designated budget from the State Treasury.
The explanations to the proposal stated: "The justification for our very existence as a people is in our being a just society, that does not forget its orphans' families. In this bill, we propose to establish an annual day of commemoration, on the first day of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah."
Adding that: "Hanukkah is the holiday marked during the darkest period of the Jewish year. It focuses on our desire to bring light to each and every house of the Jewish people (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat) and to give the home and the family strength, ability and power to shine from within the home outwards."
"On this day, we will mark our public responsibility, all of us, to the families of orphans in Israel, as part of our community and the social and national strength of the state. This is the most appropriate day according to Jewish tradition; the day when we bring light to those whose world has darkened and who are gravely afraid that they will be forgotten," the proposal concluded.