No less than 7 murders in Eretz Yisrael in the past 10 days have officials concerned and expressing outrage, with the Friday night beating death of a 59-year-old man the latest in the list. The victim was identified as Leonard Arik Karp z”l.

The man was walking on Friday night with his wife and their 25-year-old daughter on the Tel Baruch Beach in Tel Aviv. A group of youths passed and commented on their daughter, prompting the man to respond. They began beating him. The wife and daughter fled, with some of the youths chasing them, while the others continued beating the father, eventually drowning him in the beach. His lifeless body was discovered on shabbos morning in an Israel Electric Company facility in the area, in northern Tel Aviv.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed outrage over the hooliganism, calling for swift and stern police action to bring those responsible to justice.

Suspects in custody include residents of Petach Tikvah and Jaljulya, with the latter being an Israeli Arab municipality.

A 17-year-old Petach Tikvah who is in custody was taken back to the beach to reenact the events for police, insisting she tried to prevent her friends from beating the man to death. A gag order is being placed on the case by request of police, who fear exposure of the identities of the suspects in custody will compromise future police lineups.

The mother and daughter were eventually able to summon police assistance and the mother was transported to a hospital in light condition. Her husband’s body was transported to Abu Kabir Forensic Institute to determine the cause of death.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)