Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau calls for slain Palestinian convert to be buried in Jewish grave

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau has called for David Ben-Avraham (born Saamach Zeitoun), who was erroneously shot by the IDF last week, to be buried in a Jewish grave in a letter to Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli on Wednesday.

Rabbi Lau cites two cases in Jewish law that supported the burial of Ben-Avraham in a Jewish grave; he also conferred with local rabbis who agreed on a Jewish burial.

הרב הראשי הגאון רבי דוד לאו: יש לקבור את גר הצדק שנורה בשוגג בקבר ישראל pic.twitter.com/yi6IANhQfX

— חדשות המוקד (@hamoked_il) March 27, 2024

Ben-Avraham underwent a non-rabbinate conversion in Bnei Brak in 2019 and was subsequently beaten and abused by the Palestinian Authority.

He was mistakenly shot by the IDF last week near the Elazar in the West Bank; he reportedly raised suspicion when he got off the bus at the place where normally only Jews disembark.

They then checked his belongings and found a kitchen knife in his bag, after which he was shot.

However, there was no indication of an attempted attack, with eyewitnesses saying the bag was in his bag and that he didn't take any aggressive actions.

The law does not permit using lethal force where a mere arrest would be easily possible. Additionally, it is not a crime to carry a knife, even for self-defense.

Burial controversy

Due to his unsanctioned conversion, there were complications over burying him in a Jewish grave.

Burial in the State of Israel is primarily conducted by religious bodies and is funded by the National Insurance Institute.

Cemeteries are operated mainly by religious burial organizations for Jews and the equivalent bodies for other religious communities, and a minority are operated by secular burial companies that operate in civil cemeteries.

Rabbis in the Hebron area called for Ben-Avraham to be buried in a Jewish grave.

Hebron Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Schwartz, alongside Kiryat Arba-Hebron Council head Israel Baramson and Hebron Council head Eyal Gelman, put out a statement urging a Jewish burial, saying, "David aspired all his life to connect with the Jewish people and underwent great trials for this cause."