The chareidi community was shocked by the desecration and
defilement of the dead last week when the Haifa District
Court approved an autopsy on the body of Frieda Wiesel
o"h, who was found dead in her apartment in Kiryat
Ata. Following the incident, demonstrations took place around
the country.
Suspecting murder, the police ordered an autopsy to determine
the cause of death. When the family members voiced firm
objections, the police turned to the Haifa District Court.
Atty. Rabbi Yisroel Shlomai of Haifa, representing the family
as a volunteer for ZAKA's legal department, demanded that the
judge prevent any examination. When it was made clear that
the law requires an autopsy following every incident in which
a legal violation is suspected, it was decided to ask the
judge to order the Forensic Institute at Abu Kabir to perform
only an external autopsy to maintain kovod hameis as
much as possible.
The judge expressed sensitivity to the family's demand to act
in accordance with halochoh, but said that the law
requires a thorough postmortem examination in order to rule
out the possibility of murder. Atty. Shlomai then requested a
graduated autopsy, starting with an external examination and
progressing to a localized autopsy with minimal harm to the
body in steps, only if the cause of death could not otherwise
be determined by a previous stage.
When the judge agreed to the request, Atty. Shlomai then
argued, based on investigations and articles published in
recent years, the forensics workers at Abu Kabir could not be
relied on to adhere to court orders. But the judge rejected
his claim.
Ten minutes later, while the family of the deceased was
looking into the possibility of filing a High Court appeal,
the Forensics Institute received the judge's decision by fax
and within seconds the autopsy got underway. A ZAKA
representative at the scene said it has been a long time
since he has seen a body defiled in such an appalling manner
by Abu Kabir workers.
News of the abominable incident traveled quickly around the
country, sparking angry protest demonstrations in Jerusalem
and outside the Forensics Institute that continued for hours,
causing severe traffic jams in Jerusalem throughout the
afternoon and evening. The next day hundreds of protesters
again demonstrated outside the Forensics Institute.
Rabbonim and public figures said the police and the
Prosecutor's Office cannot be allowed to deliberately set
aside kovod hameis time after time with total
disregard for the sensitivities of chareidi families whose
loved ones lie dead before them and whose only desire is to
bury them as quickly as possible to preserve their honor.
Even when courts issue orders for postmortem examinations,
they added, an independent observer should be appointed to
oversee the examination firsthand since the Forensics
Institute staff does not hesitate to perform full autopsies
in cases where a simple external examination would suffice.
Furthermore, they said, the courts should issue instructions
on how to perform the external examinations without defiling
the dead in such a disgraceful manner.
