Israel owes David Ben Avraham a Jewish burial - editorial

• Published date: 24 March 2024
• Author: JPOST EDITORIAL
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The military said it has opened a criminal probe. Such a tragic and tense event provides the government with a unique opportunity to do right by a man who suffered so much, partly under its care: Give his family the option to have him buried in a Jewish cemetery

David, who grew up in Hebron as Sameh Zeitoun, has Jewish roots and has wanted to convert for years. He eventually completed the process in 2020 through a Rabbinic court in Bnei Brak, one that isn't recognized by the State of Israel.

KAN's Palestinian Affairs correspondent Nurit Yohanan, familiar with David and his story, noted that apart from a few short stints, he mostly stayed in Palestinian Hebron, along with his wife and eight children.

This complex, heavy, and harsh reality brought threats upon him, including lengthened arrests by Palestinian security forces, which included physical violence.

She added that he considered leaving Hebron because of this complicated and dangerous life but never did for too long because of the threats to his family and the unknown fate he'd be leaving his children to if he left. His family mostly denies his Judaism, she wrote.

This man had it bad from both ends, but there were a few people, a group of Jews from the Hebron area, who saw his plight and tried to help. Figuring out a way for him to be buried in a Jewish cemetery is the last decent act the Israeli government could do for this man.

Hebron Rabbis rally to make things right

This is exactly what rabbis and council heads in the Hebron area urged the government to do on Friday. Hebron's Chief Rabbi, Avraham Yitzchak Schwartz, alongside the heads of the Kiryat Arba-Hebron Council, Israel Baramson, and the Hebron Council, Eyal Gelman, in their urgent call, wrote: "David aspired all his life to connect with the Jewish people and underwent great trials for this cause."

Acknowledging the halachic complexities surrounding the issue, the rabbis wished to "find a solution that is fitting and correct from a Jewish, Israeli, moral, and human perspective." They concluded by sending their condolences to his family and friends.

Burial in Israel is primarily conducted by religious bodies and is funded chiefly by the National Insurance Institute. Cemeteries are operated mainly by...