A Palestinian teenager’s name will be removed from an Israeli memorial commemorating fallen soldiers and the victims of terrorism after his family and others complained.
Mohammed Abu Khdeir’s name appeared this week on the wall at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl, the site of the national cemetery, as the nation prepared to mark its Memorial Day on Wednesday. Abu Khdeir, 16, was beaten and burned alive by three Israelis in July, according to prosecutors.
A picture on the memorial website for Abu Khdeir shows an Israeli flag with two flowers called “Blood of the Maccabees” in Israel, a symbol often used on Memorial Day, when the country honors its soldiers killed in the line of duty and victims of terrorism.
But Abu Khdeir’s family objected to his inclusion on the memorial wall. His father, Hussein Abu Khdeir, said no one asked for his permission to put his son’s name on the wall. “I refuse that my son’s name will be listed between soldiers of the occupation,” he said.
Terror victim group wants name removed
Almagor, an organization that works on behalf of victims of terror in Israel, also opposes Abu Khdeir’s inclusion on the memorial. Almagor described the teen’s death as a rogue attack and said he’s not a terror victim.
“Somebody did here a trick, and we are going to fight to correct it,” said Almagor CEO Meir Indor. “We will not recognize someone who was murdered in a brutal way in an individual action.”
Indor’s organization wrote a letter to the National Insurance Institute of Israel — the country’s social security administration, which maintains the memorial site — demanding that Abu Khdeir’s name be removed from the memorial wall. Indor said if the teenager’s name is not taken off, members of Almagor want their own family members’ names removed.
On Wednesday, Israel Radio reported that the National Insurance Institute of Israel will remove Abu Khdeir’s name from the memorial following his father’s complaints. The teen’s name has already been removed from the organization’s website, which lists the names on the memorial wall.
A panel of judges began hearing evidence in January against the three suspects in Abu Khdeir’s killing.