Sahar Ismael, 50, an adviser to Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton and No. 17 on the New Hope Party’s Knesset list, was shot dead in the Galilee town of Rameh on Sunday morning, the Israel Police reported.
The background to the murder was reportedly Ismael’s intention to use his influence and connections in government to fight the town’s crime gangs, people close to him said.
One person said Ismael had recently received several death threats, Maariv reported.
Police suspect the killing had been planned. Ismael was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene of the shooting.
“He was killed in a hail of bullets,” Rameh Mayor Shauki Latif told Ynet.
Ismael’s political colleagues issued condolence messages on social media.
“The New Hope family is stunned and hurting over the murder of our member and friend Sahar Ismael,” the party said on Twitter.
“A brave and honest leader. Adviser to the Education Minister; engineer; educator. Member of the Druze community. We are certain that the police will do all it can to catch the despicable murderers. Condolences to his dear family,” the party wrote.
משפחת תקווה חדשה המומה וכואבת על הירצחו של חברנו סאהר אסמאעיל.מנהיג אמיץ וישר. יועץ שרת החינוך, הנדסאי, איש חינוך. בן העדה הדרוזית.אנו בטוחים כי משטרת ישראל תעשה הכל כדי לשים את ידה על הרוצחים השפלים. תנחומינו למשפחתו היקרה pic.twitter.com/BiKcqv7Gr5
— New Hope | תקווה חדשה (@ILNewHope) August 15, 2021
Ismael was a close personal friend of Justice Minister
“Sahar Ismael, a dear and loved friend and a political partner was murdered this morning in Rameh,” Sa’ar tweeted shortly after he heard the news.
“A kind-hearted man, who loved people and loved the country, an honest and brave leader, a true friend. It is incomprehensible that I will no longer see Sahar, with his eternal smile, which we saw only yesterday. I am sure that the police will catch the despicable murderers and bring them to justice,” he wrote.
סאהר איסמעיל, חבר יקר ואהוב כאח לי ושותף לדרך, נרצח הבוקר בראמה. אדם טוב לב, אוהב אדם ואוהב המדינה, מנהיג ישר ואמיץ, חבר אמיתי. אני מתקשה להפנים שלא אראה עוד את סאהר, עם החיוך הנצחי, שעוד אתמול ראיתיו. אני בטוח שמשטרת ישראל תשים את ידה על הרוצחים השפלים ותביאם למשפט צדק. pic.twitter.com/onN0N7pKPb
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) August 15, 2021
“The Education Minister Dr. Yifat Shasha-Biton was astonished to receive the bitter news of the murder of her adviser on Arab affairs Sahar Ismael, and is in contact with his immediate family,” Shasha-Biton’s office wrote in a statement.
“The entire Education Ministry joins in the family’s deep mourning and sorrow,” the statement said.
Some Arab-Israeli MKs said the murder was proof of the country’s neglect of the Arab community.
“Horrifying and shocking! Crime in Arab society has for a long time crossed all boundaries, all red lines,” Ra’am (United Arab List) MK Walid Taha wrote in a response to Arik Bender of Maariv.
“For many years the state (police) has not done its duty in eradicating crime and stopping huge quantities of weapons, some from security facilities and military bases, falling into the hands of young people and children in Arab society. The government needs to stop talking and start acting,” Taha wrote.
“A horrific murder and a dangerous development,” wrote Ra’am MK Saeed Alharomi, head of the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee. “This is further proof of the intolerable situation that Arab society has reached in its daily dealings with crime and horrific murders.”
“The murder comes a few days after the prime minister and the public security minister announced the plan to fight crime in Arab society,” he wrote. “I sincerely hope that the whole system will be used to eradicate crime and terrible violence.”
סאהר איסמעיל, היועץ לשרת החינוך, שילם בחייו בגלל שהוא ערבי. 72 אזרחים ערבים נרצחו מאז תחילת השנה, חברה שלמה זועקת כבר עשורים ואיש לא שומע. אולי עכשיו הממשלה סוף סוף תתעורר.
— Ayman Odeh (@AyOdeh) August 15, 2021
Joint List head Ayman Odeh tweeted: “Sahar Ismael, adviser to the education minister, paid the price for being an Arab. 72 Arab citizens have been murdered since the beginning of the year.”
“The whole of Arab society has been crying out for decades, but no one listens. Maybe now the government will finally wake up,” he wrote.
טרגדיה של ממש החיסול של סאהר אסמאעיל איש חינוך ואיש פוליטי. החיסול של סאהר הוא עליית מדרגה של ארגוני הפשע שעורפים ראשים בתוך החברה הערבית. זה תפקידה של המשטרה ורק המשטרה יכולה לעצור את מרחץ הדמים. pic.twitter.com/PaUVORqnNg
— Ibtisam Mara'ana אבתיסאם מראענה إبتِسام مراعنة (@IbtisamMaraana) August 15, 2021
Labor MK Ibtisam Mara’ana-Menuhin called the murder an assassination.
“A real tragedy. The assassination of Sahar Ismael, an educator and a political man. Sahar’s assassination is an escalation by the criminal organizations, who are dropping heads in Arab society. This is the police’s job and only the police can stop the bloodbath,” she wrote in a tweet.
Former Balad head Jamal Zahalka tweeted: “Sahar Ismael, an adviser to the education minister, was not killed because of his role but because he belonged to a society where crime is rampant and criminal organizations enjoy immunity. Since the beginning of the year, 72 Arab citizens have been murdered. Will the government and the police change direction and start acting? There are not even serious plans and promises. Anyone who can prevent a murder and does not do so is an accomplice to the crime.”
סאהר אסמאעיל, יועץ שרת החינוך, לא נרצח בגלל תפקידו אלא בגלל שייכותו לחברה בה הפשע משתולל וארגוני הפשע נהנים מחסינות. מתחילת השנה נרצחו 72 אזרחים ערבים, האם הממשלה והמשטרה ישנו כיוון ויתחילו לפעול? אין אפילו תוכניות והבטחות רציניות.. מי שיכול למנוע רצח ולא מונע הוא שותף לפשע.
— Jamal Zahalka (@zahalkajamal) August 15, 2021