Slain Palestinian Teen’s Family Wants Jewish Killers’ Homes Demolished
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
JERUSALEM — The family of a Palestinian teen from eastern Jerusalem killed in a revenge attack by three Jewish extremists has asked Israel’s Supreme Court to order the demolition of the murderers’ homes.
Muhammad Abu Khdeir was kidnapped and killed on July 1, hours after the bodies of three kidnapped Jewish teens were discovered near Hebron. Abu Khdeir’s charred body was discovered in the Jerusalem Forest, where he was burned alive by the killers.
In May, Yosef Ben-David, 31, of Jerusalem, was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years.
The names of Ben-David’s accomplices, who were both 16 at the time of the killing, have not been released publicly. The accomplices were sentenced last April: one to life in prison, the other to 21 years.
The teen’s family on Wednesday called on the state to raze the killers’ homes as it does for the family homes of Palestinian terrorists.
“The state needs to operate in the same way against Jewish terrorists as it does against Palestinians. Just like the homes of Palestinian terrorists are sealed, the same should be done to Jews,” the family said in its request, according to the Times of Israel.
The family went to the Supreme Court after the Defense Ministry determined last month that there was no need to demolish the Jewish killers’ homes since Jewish terrorism is not as widespread as Palestinian terror, the Times of Israel, which saw the official letter sent to the family, reported.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
