While public outrage in Israel appeared to have reached a crescendo, Goren said it remained to be seen whether it might push Netanyahu to act.
“We have to see how this momentum grows because eventually, it has to lead to some political action,” he said.
‘Save the others’
The nationwide strike came as the grief-stricken families held funerals for the loved ones they had spent months fighting to bring home.
Crowds gathered at the funeral for Goldberg-Polin on Monday, with many holding up Israeli flags, as well as the flag of Hapoel Tel Aviv, the 23-year-old’s favorite soccer club, as his parents delivered heart-wrenching tributes to their son.
“Hersh, we failed you, we all failed you,” his father, Jon Polin, said. “You would not have failed you. You would have pushed harder for justice.”
“How do we live the rest of our life without you?” asked his mother, Rachel Goldberg. “I pray that your death will be a turning point in this horrible situation in which we are all entangled.”
“Finally my sweet boy, finally, finally, finally, finally you’re free,” she said.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also spoke at the funeral. “As a human being and as a father and as the president of the state of Israel, I want to say how sorry I am,” he said “How sorry I am that we didn’t protect Hersh on that dark day. How sorry I am that we failed to bring him home.”
A funeral was also expected to be held later in the day for 40-year-old Carmel Gat.
“It’s too late for Carmel. Her blood is on your hands, Netanyahu. But you can still save the others,” her cousin, Gil Dickmann, told NBC News in Tel Aviv.
