The murder Thursday morning of Palestinian convert David Ben Avraham by IDF reserve soldiers was a gut punch in an already tense and tragic time for everyone, Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs.
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 religious burial organizations, and a minority of them are operated by secular burial companies that operate in civil cemeteries.
Even in the heat of war and heightened tensions, the highest value we have, as Jews and Israelis, is honoring human life. David was an elderly man in his 60s with chronic illnesses; he spoke Hebrew.
Haim Parag, a resident of Hebron who followed David through his conversion, told Army Radio this week that “he was chased by Israel, which didn't accept his conversion, he was chased by the PA and Hamas, which tortured him, and now he is being chased a third time, by being refused to be buried in Israel.”
The decision rests with the family. Yohanan noted in her report that those close to him would prefer he be buried in a plot close to the family’s home in Hebron so that on either side if he is buried in a Jewish or Muslim cemetery - the burial site does not turn into a flashpoint for clashes, and can remain a private location for the family to mourn and remember.
However, it is incumbent on the government to at least give them the option, and as his conversion was not recognized, that is not a possibility right now. As the rabbis said, this man persevered through so much grief in his life and deserves the chance to be buried next to people of his chosen faith.
Whatever complications this brings, it is exactly what should be done, as a last honor and show of respect to someone who genuinely found his truth right at the crux of two fiery nationalistic identities in this tiny strip of land.
This act would showcase exactly where Israel places its values, especially in these unprecedented times - that even now, Israel knows how to do the right and honorable thing.