Eleven years after the petira, the children of the niftar learned body parts were held in the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute and the family is holding another levaya for the remaining parts.

The niftar was 56-years-old. According to one of the sons, police asked prior to the levaya if the family would permit performing a number of tests.

According to the Hamodia report, attorney Tomer Bahar, who represents the children of the niftar, explains the son or his brothers were not presented with any information or documentation explaining the need for a post mortem or the taking of tissue samples from the niftar. According to the lawsuit, on that day, blood and tissue samples from various organs were taken in the forensic institute. According to the pathologist, the blood sample had to be kept but the tissues and organs removed were to have been interred with the niftar.

This is not the only recorded case and in fact, after learning the institute too often deceived the families of a niftar, a commission headed by retired Judge Segalson was established in addition to a Health Minister probe. The probes confirmed what the public already knew, that the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute routinely lied to families regarding post mortems and taking body parts. In one lawsuit referring to a case in which a niftar’s heart was removed and kept in the institute, a brother who filed suit received 300,000 NIS. In another case, a family was awarded 500,000 NIS after an autopsy was performed against the family’s will. In yet another case, a family of a soldier was awarded 1.5 million NIS after learning pathologists took blood and body samples from the dead soldier without permission.

In this case, 11 years following the petira, a son of the niftar received a letter from the Ministry of Health informing him that body parts taken from his late father remain in the forensic institute. Family members explain this is the first they heard of this as they were never informed body parts were taken and had to be held. A month later the son met with a representative of the chevra kadisha at the kever and the chevra official had a box described as “a large shoe box” that was filled with a white container weighing about 1kg (2.2 lbs.).

The family accuses the forensic institute and the Ministry of Health of acting in violation of the law, now seeking 2.5 million NIS in damages. The case is being heard in the Tel Aviv Magistrate Court.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)