Moriya Arami and Efrat
Moriya Arami and EfratCourtesy of the family

Moriya Arami, the widow of construction worker Netanel Arami who was murdered by Arab co-workers last September in a terrorist attack in which his rappelling ropes were cut, gave birth last Friday to a baby daughter.

Arami was murdered when his two rappelling ropes were cut, sending him falling to his death from a construction site in Petah Tikva. At the start, police claimed it was a "work accident," but evidence at the scene conclusively proved that he was murdered by Arab workers, who were found laughing at the site.

Police inaction and repeated allegations of a cover-up sparked public outcry and protests; the investigation is still ongoing, but the three main Arab suspects were released from police custody as "no legal justification was found" to keep them detained during the investigation.

Netanel's mother Miriam told Yedioth Aharonot that the birth was "joy mixed with sadness. Everything is mixed: crying that Netanel won't be able to hug his daughter who was born, along with crying for joy on the birth of the baby Efrat."

Efrat was born at the Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, and according to her grandmother, Miriam, "she was born premature at a weight of 2,100 grams (just over four and a half pounds - ed.); that's definitely because of what happened (i.e. the grief - ed.) since Netanel was cruelly murdered."

Moriya "had a difficult birth, but now everything is okay," said Miriam. "Yesterday she held and embraced her (Efrat) for the first time, and we hope that in another week-and-a-half she will be released (from the hospital) and that for Pesach (Passover) we'll be together at home."

The grieving mother added "yesterday it was hard for me to get up from my bed out of depression that Netanel didn't merit to hug his daughter who he so anticipated. Because I think about him so much and cry, I dreamed about him taking Efrat in his arms and kissing her on the forehead."

After the initial investigation results were published, Arami was declared a terrorist victim, entitling his widow and children to receive aid from the state.

His young wife will now be forced to raise Efrat, in addition to her two other young children Eitan and Aviya, without her husband.

Netanel Arami
Netanel AramiFlash 90