In response to the report by HaKol HaYehudi, Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf contacted the Police Commissioner demanding an investigation into the death of Raphael Mizrahi Z”L. He asked that the police be sure to rule out the possibility that the attack was a nationalistic murder.
It should be noted that Raphael Mizrahi, a Chabad Hasid in his 60s living on HaGedud HaIvri Street in Ramle, called police on a Friday night and reported that his Arab neighbor attacked and injured him. When police and Magen David Adom (MDA) arrived at the scene, they found him bleeding. He collapsed in the ambulance and was pronounced dead a few hours later.
The police arrested his neighbor, an Arab criminal with a long list of priors a few hours later and told the media that the case was believed to be a dispute between neighbors. On Sunday, the suspect was brought to court where the police requested an extension of his detention on suspicion of manslaughter. Meanwhile, the Mizrachi’s body was sent to Abu Kabir for an autopsy.
The suspect claimed that he was sitting and smoking on the building's stairs when a hot liquid was spilled on him from above. According to him, he went to the upper floor, knocked on Mizrahi's door, and Mizrahi came out with a spike, after which the suspect threw a scooter at him. The suspect claims that he then fled to his apartment, called the police, and locked himself inside. He denies attacking Mizrahi.
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Letter from Minister Goldknopf
However, a series of circumstances raise questions about the alleged assailants version of events. First, Mizrahi was very ill and used a walking stick. Furthermore, for the past six months his son had been caring for him and Mizrahi only returned to his home about two weeks ago.
“I don’t understand how my father could have thrown a scooter? He can barely walk," Mizrahi’s son told HaKol HaYehudi. Blood stains were also found on the stairs leading up to Mizrahi’s apartment, and there were signs of stab wounds on his body.
Additionally, the family claims that the father had repeatedly told them that his Arab neighbors were harassing him for nationalistic reasons, spitting on him and calling him derogatory names. HaKol HaYehudi’s investigation shows that the suspect has a past criminal record, including a conviction for felony extortion, for which the suspect previously served time in prison.
In court, the police stated that there were discrepancies between the suspect’s initial report and his version in the investigation, and the Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court extended his detention for several days.
Following that extension, at the next hearing, attended by the Mizrachi family, the police decided to release the suspect without any objections and without restrictive conditions. "How can they release him so quickly and without a hearing? The police claim that maybe my father stabbed himself—does that make sense?" the family told HaKol HaYehudi.
Initially, the police stated that the suspect was released following the court's decision. When we pointed out that the court had not ordered his release and that it was a police decision, the police changed their response to say: "The Israel police arrested a suspect close to the tragic event while examining the circumstances of the death. The suspect was released under restrictions following the investigation, including the professional opinion received from the Forensic Medical Institute."
"I request that you look deeper into the matter to seek the truth and reassure the family, who are already devastated," Minister Goldknopf writes in his letter which was also sent to the Minister of Internal Security.
