Nearly three weeks after the fatal stabbing of Yemanu Binyamin Zalka, 16 teenagers were indicted Sunday in connection with his murder on the eve of Independence Day.
The indictments, filed by the prosecution to the Central District Court in Lod, were split into two cases. One charges the main suspect, a 15-year-old boy, with murder. The second charges 15 other minors, all between the ages of 14 and 16, with aggravated assault with intent to cause serious harm – an offense that carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
The suspects were also charged with additional offenses, including obstruction of justice and witness tampering. The prosecution requested that all of them be remanded until the end of legal proceedings.
The incident drew widespread shock and prompted renewed discussion about teen violence after it unfolded nearly three weeks ago.
According to the indictment, the group met on the evening of Wednesday, April 22, to celebrate Independence Day. At some point, they began discharging a can of snow spray toward a group of girls, one of whom ran toward the nearest shelter: a branch of Pizza Hut.
She entered the restaurant covered in snow spray, while three of the boys followed her inside, spraying the pizza shop's floor and counter.
Workers at the restaurant, including Zalka, rebuked them and asked them to leave the premises. Zalka escorted them outside, where an argument broke out.
The teens began shouting and cursing at Zalka, while two other workers came out and tried to calm the situation down.
About two hours later, the confrontation resumed. The group of boys crowded around Zalka, and one of them pushed him hard to the ground.
“This was the signal that launched the violent attack” against Zalka, the prosecution said.
'Cold, calculating nature'
The boys then attacked him, according to the indictment, punching and kicking him, throwing snow spray cans at his head, and thrusting them toward his back and collarbone.
At that point, the 15-year-old ran toward Zalka with a knife. Zalka noticed and managed to distance himself from the group.
But the 15-year-old saw him move away, approached him, and stabbed him violently.
Zalka fell to the ground. Even then, the group continued to strike him with their hands and with the spray cans as he tried to protect his head. At that point, he could no longer lift himself off the ground.
As Zalka lay dying, the group ran off. They did not call emergency services.
Zalka was eventually evacuated to Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva in critical condition. He died the next day.
The prosecution said the cold and calculated nature of the teens’ actions reflected the alarming level of danger in the case.
The Central District Attorney’s Office said it “views the incident and its grave consequences with great severity, and attaches paramount importance to combating the phenomenon of violence among teenagers.”
It added, “Their dangerousness is glaring, after they brutally and viciously attacked the late Zalka, who was stabbed over a trivial matter, when all he sought to do was maintain order at his workplace.
“For the offense of murder, the court has the authority to impose a life sentence on the stabber, while for the other minors, it may impose heavy and significant prison sentences. We will do everything in our power to see that justice is fully served.”
On Saturday night, hours ahead of the planned indictments, dozens gathered outside the prosecution’s offices in Tel Aviv in support of Zalka’s family.
They demanded that all the teens involved be charged with murder committed jointly, not only the teen accused of carrying out the stabbing.
Yemanu’s sister, Yaros, said at the protest, “Anyone who so much as touched my brother is a murderer, not just the one who stabbed him. The prosecution has not internalized that if the others walk free, they will kill again without hesitation.”
On Sunday morning, after the details of the indictment were publicized, the family said in response: “The prosecution this morning chose the side of the criminals. Instead of understanding the gravity of the moment and filing indictments with unprecedented charges that would prevent the next murder, they chose to go easy and let Yemanu’s murderers off cheaply,” they said.
They argued that the suspect had understood exactly what evidence needed to be concealed in order to reduce his legal exposure, and called the prosecution’s position that there was insufficient evidence “a disgrace.” They also claimed that, in their view, the evidence showed planning, execution, and premeditated intent to murder.
“But while everyone sees reality clearly, the prosecution chooses to be blind and to enable the next murder,” said the family.