The mother of six-month-old Aharon (Ari) Katz, who died yesterday (Monday) at an unlicensed daycare in Jerusalem, bid him a heartbreaking farewell in a eulogy she shared on social media.
The mother posted a photo of a handwritten note, asking, "How in God's name does one eulogize a baby? Say how much he loved tickles and kisses? How often he would smile or cry? How mischievous he was and which pacifier he liked best? How much did he weigh, and at what age did he crawl?"
She continued, "And what do the sweet souls do in the babies' paradise? Do angels draw pictures of mother's laughing? Do whole, small beating hearts sit in a circle of the righteous and tell stories of the end of days? And is the heaven up there not too large for a little baby who only knows how to crawl?"
Hani, Ari's mother, is a social activist who after the October 7 massacre founded the "Tachic" initiative, a volunteer project that produced and delivered thousands of memorial necklaces with photos and names of the fallen and murdered, which were sent to the homes of bereaved families across the country.
Officils at the Forensic Medicine Institute in Abu Kabir estimate that the cause of death of the two infants was dehydration resulting from an air conditioner set to high heat in the closed room where they were sleeping, but have not yet made a conclusive report.
The mother of the infant Leah Goloventchitz, who died in the incident, posted on Instagram, "My Leah, thank you for being mine. Your soul will be within me forever. Blessed is the true Judge."
Hundreds of extreme haredi demonstrators protested last night in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh and Bnei Brak against the decision of the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court to authorize autopsies of the two infants.
Judge Anat Greenbaum issued an order delaying the autopsies until 12:00. Until then, ZAKA will file an urgent petition to the Supreme Court. "I am aware of the families' halachic position, but in halacha there are differing opinions," Judge Greenbaum said during the hearing. "It is important to ascertain the cause of death for reasons of public health and the police investigation."
ZAKA, representing the families, offered a compromise that the infants undergo invasive toxicology tests that could determine the cause of death. However, the proposal did not convince the judge, since the results of those tests could arrive only after weeks or months.
Following hours of investigation, the police decided to arrest the daycare owner and a caregiver in connection with the deaths of the two infants. A hearing to extend their detention was scheduled for the morning.