Father of slain hostage plays down election run, but urges parties for October 7th state commission
Israeli-American Ruby Chen, whose son Itay was killed on October 7th and whose body was held in captivity for almost two years, will focus on support from the outside
Ruby Chen says he is not running for the Knesset, but he is pressing every party in the upcoming election to publicly commit to a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 disaster, and to make that commitment a condition for voters’ support.
In an interview on i24NEWS’ “The Rundown” with Nicole Zedeck, Chen framed the inquiry as a non‑partisan accountability measure that must sit at the center of the election debate, even as hostage and bereaved families increasingly intersect with party politics. Chen told Zedeck that his family, alongside other families, petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court nearly two years ago demanding the government explain why it has not established an investigation committee into how 1,200 people were killed in one day and 251 abducted from Israeli territory.
He said the government’s recent official response to the court was, in his words, “basically, we did not have enough time. I think, after three years, if a government is not willing to investigate how that happened, the biggest disaster of the State of Israel since its inception, I think that is a significant criterion of who you should vote for in this upcoming election.”
Chen argued that voters should explicitly ask every parliamentary list: will you create such an investigation committee in the next Knesset? “Shouldn’t we also be asking ourselves, what were the accomplishments of the previous government? … Why have you not created an investigation committee and taken responsibility of what happened?”
Keeping October 7 accountability “above politics”
Zedeck raised the risk that the push for an inquiry could be turned into a partisan campaign issue. Chen replied that most hostage and fallen families try to avoid party labels, but that accountability must still be central to how people vote. “We do our best not to speak politics… There are over 2,200 Israeli citizens that have been killed over the last four years of this government. And it goes to responsibility.”
He said a state commission “does not belong to this or that political camp,” but is “the basis for our being able to live here with the knowledge that the lessons are being learned and the next disaster is being averted.” Israeli-American Chen's son Itay was killed on October 7, and his body was held in Gaza for 760 days before being returned.
Hostage families turning their heads to politics
While Chen says he is not seeking office, the space between hostage activism and electoral politics has narrowed. Some family members are now inside party lists or openly bargaining with them.
Einav Zangauker, a prominent hostage activist and father of returned hostage Matan, has accused opposition leader Yair Golan of breaking a pledge to place her on the Democrats’ electoral slate, a dispute that underscores how families are trying to leverage candidacies to force accountability. Tzvika Mor, father of returned hostage Eitan Mor, is on a reserved slot for the Religious Zionist Party.
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In that context, Chen’s appearance at a Yesh Atid gathering, where Yair Lapid later thanked him, was not an endorsement of the party, he told Zedeck. He explained they were there to share a wine made in Itay’s name, after a Yesh Atid member bought it and invited them to speak about October 7.
Chen also used the moment to credit Yesh Atid’s MKs for consistently prioritising the hostages while in opposition, while criticising Labour‑aligned parties for not pressing as hard on hostage‑related laws and budgets in recent months. “At the moment, no, I’m not looking to go into politics. I wish to be able to at least have a voice that speaks in a nonpolitical way… If we do not check those things, then it’ll just happen again.”
The wider fight over the form of any probe
The Chen family’s push comes amid a broader struggle over what kind of October 7 investigation Israel will get. Bereaved families and the “October Council” have repeatedly demanded a full state commission of inquiry, the only body empowered to subpoena witnesses, while the coalition has advanced a rival plan for a politically appointed probe with a Knesset supermajority selecting its members.
The government has told the High Court it should not order a state commission before the election, calling the issue “politically sensitive.” Opposition parties have vowed to establish a state commission immediately if they win, while critics accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of resisting an independent probe to shield himself and his ministers.
For Ruby Chen, the message to voters is to treat the inquiry as a litmus test. “We call from here to every party and everyone that seeks the public’s trust in the election: Are you going to form a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7? Yes or no? Whoever is unwilling to commit to seeking the truth, we call on you not to give them your vote.”