On September 16, 2015, 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. Following a campaign led by Netanel Arami’s family, including a press conference on September 30, 2015, the Petah Tikva Magistrate Court lifted the gag order and on the morning of November 26, 2015 the court accepted the request filed by Honenu attorney Hur Uziel Nizri on behalf of Netanel Arami’s family and allowed publication of the fact that his death was a nationalistically motivated murder carried out by Arabs. Netanel’s family members are officially recognized by the Israeli government as “victims of terror”.

On Tuesday, January 5, Honenu Attorney Menasheh Yado, who has represented the family as “victims of terror” since the murder, wrote a letter to Police Commissioner Alsheich in light of the fact that the family feels that the investigation has not been progressing as it should.

“On behalf of the Honenu organization, my office is representing Uziel and Miriam Arami. The couple lost their son, Ro’i Netanel Arami, Hy”d, in a terror attack on September 16, 2014” wrote Yado.

“Several months ago I accompanied the parents to a meeting with the Sharon District Police Commander and the head of the special investigatory team. The meeting was held by request of the parents who wanted to know if there were any developments in the investigation and how it was progressing. The parents also wanted answers to several questions, such as whether or not the police had acted properly at the murder scene in order to apprehend the terrorists, why Netanel was not buried as a victim of terror, and many more questions about the conduct of the police.”

Yado stresses that the Aramis left the meeting with a feeling of confidence in the commander of the special investigatory team and in the Sharon District Commander who, “Assured us that they would do all that they could.”

“Nonetheless my clients are living with the fear that over time the terrible murder will be forgotten, and possibly not all of the authorities responsible for collecting evidence will utilize the full extent of their means to locate the evidence required to incriminate the murderers,” wrote Honenu Attorney Menasheh Yado to Alsheich.

“We are pinning our hopes on you that with your entry to the post of [Police] Commissioner you will bring in new energy to the investigation which will bring it to full effectiveness and bring the murderers to justice.

“I turn to you in the name of my clients and ask that you personally intervene in the investigation and see how you can proceed with either the evidence that has already been found or with renewed operations and a new way of thinking to locate additional evidence.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)