A former top Israeli space official died Sunday evening, less than a month after he was severely injured in an Arab arson attack during a wave of rioting.
Avi Har-Even, winner of the Israel Prize for Security and the director of the Israel Space Agency from 1995 to 2004, succumbed to injuries he suffered in mid-May, after the hotel he was staying at was set on fire by Arab rioters.
Har-Even, 84, suffered from smoke inhalation after the Efendi Hotel where was staying in the northern city of Acre (Akko) was set on fire by Arab arsonists during rioting in the city. He was evacuated in critical condition to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, where he was kept sedated and placed on a ventilator.
Two other people were injured in the arson attack on the Efendi Hotel. Har-Even is the second Jew to be killed during the Arab riots in Israel last month.
“Avi Har-Even, an Israel Prize laureate, was murdered by Arab rioters,” said Minister Rafi Peretz (Jewish Home). “That is terrorism in every sense of the word, and I expect the security forces and law enforcement agencies to do everything they can to bring the terrorists who murdered him to justice.”