70-year-old woman named as victim in moshav shooting

Husband apprehended by police after his car flipped over several hours after wife’s body was discovered

Esther Aharonovich was identified on Monday as the 70-year-old woman allegedly murdered by her husband in the southern moshav of Talmei Eliyahu. She is the 12th woman this year to be murdered, allegedly, by a close family member.

The suspect, her 65-year-old husband, was apprehended by police after his car flipped over several hours after his wife’s body was discovered. He allegedly shot and killed her due to an ongoing divorce battle. Police said that a gun was found in his car.

The suspect is a well-known doctor. He did an internship in the United States, and in the early 2000s became one of the first Israeli doctors to work with the Red Cross, a job that took him to Cambodia, Thailand, Georgia and other countries worldwide. He ran a hospital in Africa and worked with Native Americans on reservations in the US.

He had previously worked for the IDF as a doctor during the First Lebanon War in the 1980s.

A relative of the victim, identified as Sagit, who found her body, told Army Radio on Monday morning about what happened, saying that “there were no prior clues to the incident.”

“When we called she didn’t answer and that’s not typical of her, so I started to suspect – but not in that direction,” she said. “What I saw there you only see in the movies: It was shocking. There were no prior clues; if there had been any hints, we would have acted differently.”

When asked about the victim’s spouse, who is suspected of murdering her, Sagit responded, “Her partner was a kind person, but lately he’s been different.”

Neighbors told Israel media outlets that the couple was in the process of divorcing.

“This is a very unusual case in the community that we still have trouble digesting,” said Ricky Peretz, head of the local emergency team. “Esther was a beloved and vibrant friend, recognized and involved in the community. A total mother and grandmother and a wonderful friend. We are currently engaged in providing support and response to the family and community. We rely on the police to investigate and handle the case.”

The alleged murder follows a spate of domestic killings in recent months in Israeli society. In October alone, 32-yearold Michal Sela was stabbed in her Motza home outside of Jerusalem allegedly by her husband, who is under suspicion of the killing, and Maxim Tal, a 30-year-old from Kiryat Bialik, was accused of stabbing his wife, Maria, to death in Haifa. His remand was extended by the courts on Sunday.