Shelly Dadon
Shelly DadonCourtesy of the Dadon Family

The family of Shelly Dadon Hy''d held a press conference on Monday, in which they called on the state to recognize Shelly's brutal murder as a terrorist act.

Dadon's body was found in the industrial area of Migdal Haemek in the Galilee, on May 1, after the 19-year-old from Afula went there on what she believed was a job interview.

Family members of the murdered young woman said they will send a letter to Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino, the head of the Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet) and the head of the police's northern district department, demanding they define the murder as being nationalistically motivated.

Last week Dadon's parents were updated by Danino on the status of the investigation, and on the basis of the facts they demand the murder be classified as a terrorist act, and their daughter recognized as a terror victim.

"The Dadon family has been informed by additional sources that in the coming days full details of the investigation will be allowed to be published," said the family's lawyer Amir Bar-Dayan.

Indeed, the Nazereth Magistrates Court media gag order is to expire on Wednesday, although it is possible that the police may ask for an extension on the order.

"Although the media gag order has not yet expired, the family of the deceased Shelly Dadon z''l, and at their head her parents Ya'akov and Ilana, demand from the heads of the police, the ISA and the internal security minister to announce publicly that the background and motive to the abhorrent murder is nationalistic," added the lawyer.

Calling on the police and security forces, Bar-Dayan stated "you are requested to guard the honor of Shelly Danon z''l who was murdered brutally in a murder that caused outrage throughout the country. We request the murder be declared as a terrorist attack for all intents and purposes."

"We're a shadow of our former selves"

Shelly's father Ya'akov spoke at the press conference, noting that his daughter was a "normative girl from a good home," who innocently went to a work interview and was "murdered cruelly."

"I ask all the sources - the ISA, and the police, to continue investigating this matter, and if it's needed to extend the media gag then do it so as to determine that my daughter was killed under nationalistic motives. I won't accept anything else," emphasized the father. 

The bereaved father went on, saying his daughter was "a girl who never harmed anyone, and suddenly the family is a shadow of its former self. I ask that they honor us and make the efforts to reach the true investigation."

Last Sunday it was reported that the murder case was close to being solved, and reportedly this Sunday additional breakthroughs were made in the case.

The news of breakthroughs come after a report two weeks ago saying there have been "certain developments" in the investigation, adding that the revelations may possibly lead police to solving the case soon.

Roughly two months have passed since the murder, with police reportedly as in the dark as ever regarding the murder, until these latest developments.

Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich announced "dramatic developments" in the investigation on Memorial Day, just days after the murder, when he met with Dadon's family. Aharonovich reversed his statement that the murder was soon to be explained mere days later, when he said her murder might not be nationalistically motivated.

Aharonovich's handling of the case have led a senior official last month to call him a "catastrophe."