Shelly Dadon Hy''d
Shelly Dadon Hy''dCourtesy of the Dadon Family

Dozens of family and friends of Shelly Dadon Hy''d, the 19-year-old from Afula who was murdered on May 1 while on her way to a job interview, visited her grave on Monday, after marking "shloshim," the traditional 30-day mourning period.

The initial seven days ("shiva") of intense mourning following the burial are followed by 23 days of slightly less strict mourning observances in Jewish custom.

The family members expressed their shock and disappointment while at the Afula cemetery that now, a full month later, police still don't have a lead to go on in the investigation, reports Yedioth Aharonoth.

The details of Dadon's murder remain unclear, not least of all because of a police gag order on the case. A Nazareth Magistrates Court last week extended the gag order by another month until June 29. The extension is the third since the murder occurred.

The Nazareth court denied a petition filed by Haaretz against the gag order extension, as well as a request to allow partial publication of the investigation's details.

The lack of progress on the case comes despite Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich's statements just days after the murder, when he met with Dadon's family and announced "dramatic developments" in the investigation.

Aharonovich reversed his statement mere days later, when he said the murder might not be nationalistically motivatedThe comments came at the Israeli-Arab city of Umm el-Fahm, the site of alleged “price tag” vandalism which he strongly denounced. Dadon's grieving relatives have already noted politicians seem far more concerned with “price tag” attacks than with the savage murder of Shelly.

The following day Aharonovich apologized to the Dadon family for his statements; indeed his perceived mismanagement was criticized in May by a senior official who called Aharonovich a "catastrophe."

Dadon's cousin Assaf Sarid told Arutz Sheva two weeks ago, a day after hundreds in Afula protested the lack of progress in the murder case and the lack of media attention regarding the murder.

"Young boys and girls are being murdered here, and a few days later they are forgotten,” Sarid said. “[IDF soldier] Eden Atias (Hy''d) was murdered six months ago and the Arab killer became a hero. Soon they will forget the murder of Shelly Dadon and the murderers are still walking free."

"The media is more interested in price tag, this is a disgrace. Scrawling graffiti on a mosque is awful, but do not compare it to a slaughter of a Jewish girl!" added Sarid.