Mother of 18-month old Palestinian arson victim dies from injuries
A Palestinian mother whose 18-month old toddler burned to death after their home was firebombed in July has now also died from her injuries, hospital officials said.
Riham Dawabsha, the mother of Ali Dawabsha, finally lost her battle on Sunday night, after suffering 80 percent burns to her body in the arson attack. She is the third member of the family to die, the boy’s father Saad having died of his injuries in August. The family’s four-year old son is still in hospital.
“Riham Dawabsha died in the night,” said a spokeswoman for the Tel Hashomer Hospital in Tel Aviv, where the 26-year-old teacher was being treated for third-degree burns. Her body was returned to the West Bank for burial.
Jewish settlers are suspected of having carried out the attack, after the IDF demolished two illegal settlers’ homes in a nearby district only days earlier. A Star of David was spray-painted on a wall along with the words “revenge” and “long live the Messiah”.
The attack sickened Jewish communities around the world, and led to the Israeli cabinet introducing ‘administrative detention’ for Jews, a system under which detainees – usually Palestinian – can be held indefinitely without charge.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
