ZAKA Search & Rescue’s Legal Affairs Unit played a central role in the Supreme Court decision to prevent invasive autopsies on the bodies of two infants who died in a Jerusalem daycare tragedy, acting on behalf of the families and emphasizing the preservation of Kavod HaMeit.
According to ZAKA, the Legal Affairs Unit was asked to provide guidance and representation immediately after the incident, as authorities began investigating the deaths. From the outset, the unit worked to ensure that investigative procedures would be conducted while safeguarding the dignity of the deceased.
When the Israel Police and the State Attorney’s Office sought court approval for full autopsies, ZAKA’s legal team argued before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court that initial medical assessments already pointed to the likely cause of death and that invasive procedures were unnecessary. Despite these arguments, the lower court approved the autopsies.
ZAKA then filed an urgent appeal to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the ruling. During the hearing, the organization presented an alternative framework aimed at balancing investigative requirements with human dignity. The Supreme Court accepted the appeal, overturned the Magistrate’s Court decision, and ordered that no autopsies be performed, allowing the infants’ bodies to be released for burial.
Legal Affairs Unit Coordinator Michael Gutwein said: “This decision reflects not only religious law and legal reasoning, but human sensitivity. Our role is to stand beside families at the most painful moment of their lives and ensure that their children are treated with respect and care, even after death."
Throughout the process, ZAKA coordinated with rabbinic authorities and forensic professionals, including Rabbi Asher Landau and staff at the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine, to explore non-invasive investigative options. The Legal Affairs Unit also accompanied the families through the legal proceedings, explaining each stage and ensuring their concerns were represented.
ZAKA CEO Dubi Weissenstern said: “ZAKA exists to protect dignity where it is most vulnerable. Our Legal Affairs Unit ensures that even in the most sensitive and complex investigations, families are not left alone and dignity is preserved."
ZAKA US Executive Director Moshe Rozenberg added: “Our Legal Affairs Unit is a critical tool in ZAKA’s holy work of Kavod HaMeit. In this case, our incredible volunteers, who are attorneys who have dedicated themselves and volunteered their time to stand by families in their darkest hours, were able to prove to the court that the tools exist to bridge both investigative needs and preserving the dignity of the deceased."