Monday, December 1, 2014, 15:50 On Tuesday, September 16, Netanel Arami, Hy”d, fell 11 stories to his death while at work rappelling on the side of building at a Petah Tikva construction site. Arami’s family immediately claimed that his death was a nationalistically motivated murder and reasoned that an Arab worker had cut his cables; both Arami’s main cable and his back-up cable were cut. A complete gag order was placed on the case, which was partially lifted two weeks later. The family continued to demand complete disclosure.
Following a campaign led by Netanel Arami’s family with the assistance of Honenu, on
Honenu’s translation: The Prime Minister, the Government of Israel and the People of Israel mourn the death of Ro’i Netanel Arami, z”l, Hy”d, who was murdered in an atrocious incident of terror while at work, and join the bereaved family in their heavy grief.
the morning of Wednesday, November 26, the Petah Tikva Magistrate Court accepted the request filed by Honenu attorney Hur Uziel Nizri on behalf of the family and allowed publication of the determination by the GSS and the police that his death was indeed a nationalistically motivated murder carried out by Arabs. On Monday, December 1, the Israeli Government publicized an obituary for Netanel Arami, Hy”d, on behalf of the Prime Minister, in which they expressed their condolences to the Arami family and acknowledged that Arami was a victim of a terror attack.
The Aramis regard the obituary as the beginning of consolation. However, Netanel’s mother stressed that the government bears the responsibility for bringing the murderers to justice: “I cannot find the words to express the family’s emotions after the grave tragedy which has befallen us,” said Miriam Arami. “Our hearts ache for his widow and children who have been left without a father, and we hope that the Government of Israel will see to it that the murderers are brought to justice and given the death penalty. Only then will we feel that the Government of Israel has served the people with justice and brought us consolation.” She added that the family is still angry that the time they had to spend dealing with the courts in order to receive authorization to bury Netanel resulted in his burial being postponed to the day following his murder. According to Jewish tradition, burials should take place on the day of death.
Recognition that Netanel Arami, Hy”d, was murdered came only after an arduous and complex legal campaign led by his family with the assistance of Honenu. In the end the court agreed with the family’s opinion and ordered that the motivation of the murder be publicized.
Honenu attorney Hur Uriel Nizri, who is representing Arami’s family, said in response to the publication of the obituary that he expects the Prime Minister to pay a mourner’s call to the family’s home and added that the difficult nights which the family endured could not be returned. “The announcement by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Government of Israel is a belated consolation. The failure to recognize the family [as victims of terror] in a timely manner caused them undue grief, isolation, difficult nights and unnecessary hardships which became part of the daily schedule of the bereaved family, in addition to the difficult loss of their loved one. Those nights cannot be returned. Now we expect that the Prime Minister will come to console the family and not be satisfied with an announcement in a newspaper,” said Nizri.
Update:
On Tuesday, December 2, Gabi Kadosh, an adviser to the Prime Minister, paid a
Gabi Kadosh with the Arami family; photo courtesy of the Aramis
condolence call at the home of the Netanel Arami’s family and hand-delivered a condolence letter from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Moriya, Netanel’s widow, and Miriam, his mother. During Kadosh’s visit the family voiced harsh criticism of the authorities’ treatment of the incident and demanded that this conduct be prevented in the future.
The family said afterwards that they felt that the adviser to the Prime Minister listened to their claims and added that Kadosh promised to relay their concerns to the Prime Minister and the relevant authorities.
“We thank the Prime Minister for his condolence letter and greatly appreciate his concern for our bereavement,” said Miriam Arami. “We hope that he will rise to the challenge and pass a death penalty law for terrorists, so that the entire world will know that Jewish blood is not cheap.”
Honenu attorney Hur Uriel Nizri, who is representing Arami’s family, said: “The Prime Minister’s letter is important and does console the family, although it would have been preferable had things been done differently. Likewise it is expected in such a situation that the rest of the authorities will act quickly and not add to the difficulties of the bereaved family.”