Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf has urged Police Commissioner Daniel Levi to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the death of Ramla resident Raphael Mizrahi, a Chabad Hasidic man.
Despite early police allegations that Mizrahi's death was the consequence of a neighborly disagreement, Mizrahi's family believes his murder may have been caused by a nationalist attack.
On Motzaei Shabbos, Mizrahi, 60, told the police that he had been beaten by his Arab neighbor, who was known to have a criminal record. Mizrahi was found injured at the scene by emergency responders. A few hours later, he passed away in the ambulance after collapsing.
The Arab neighbor was briefly detained by officials, but shortly after, he was freed without any conditions.
Mizrahi's family were horrified and are now calling for a more thorough account of what happened before and after his death.
In a letter to Commissioner Levi, Goldknopf noted that despite the deadly result, the suspect was quickly release, with the police saying that the incident was a straightforward neighborhood fight.
The suspect says he reacted because someone spilt a drink on him from above.He claims that after confronting Mizrahi, he was thrown a scooter and threatened with a sharp weapon, which made him flee to his apartment and call the police.
Goldknopf stressed that it was critical to address the family's worries, make sure that justice is fully pursued, and especially, to rule out any possible nationalist motives behind the incident.