"They die with a sad look" • 12 corpses in a state of decay from the beginning of 2023

(live here) – Since the beginning of 2023, 12 bodies have been found in a state of decay in Israel, two of them in Haifa and one in Kiryat. Eliezer Smet from the Zaka organization: "We must not, as a people, as human beings, let this thing continue to happen."

Following repeated cases in which people are found after they have died in their solitude, a long time after death and when they are already in a state of decay, we have come to the necessary understanding that this is an issue that needs to remain on the agenda, it is necessary to continue to flood it and raise awareness about it as much as possible, to arouse the bodies in their power to help, and also to hire them all, as a society, to prevent more such painful cases from happening.

In an interview with Eliezer Smet from the Zaka organization, an unbearably difficult picture of the situation is revealed to us, from which a clear conclusion emerges - it is imperative to make every effort to stop the phenomenon.

According to Zaka data, in 2022 13 bodies were found in a state of decay in Haifa and 8 more in Kiryat. 21 cases in which people were found in their homes after their death, without anyone being aware of their condition or missing them. This is an unimaginable number. Haifa is actually in second place And not flattering to say the least, in terms of the number of bodies found there, when Tel Aviv is located in front of it.

The year 2023 has just begun, and already during that time 12 bodies were found in a state of decay throughout the country, of which 2 were in Haifa and one in Kiryat. One of the bodies found in Haifa was in a particularly extreme condition even compared to other cases, when it was found two months after her death, and all that was left of her was only a skeleton and bones.

"The person is in a state of depression, the worst there is"

"In the last three or four years, there has been an outcry regarding the difficulties faced by the volunteers following these cases, a plight that cannot be put on the agenda. This refers to cases where people are in a state of decay, people who have something happen to them at home and no one was there for them," says Eliezer.

The thing that usually arouses the suspicion of the neighbors or the people around is the strong and pungent smell that comes up, a terrible smell that makes it difficult for them to enter or approach the building, a smell because of which they can't eat and can't sleep, then they suddenly remember that there might be a neighbor in their building or someone who might be dead ". So says Smet in a touching and sensitive interview, that just by listening to him, difficult images and painful thoughts come to mind about what that person went through before his death, what he felt in his last moments, what he thought, alone, in complete solitude, without a living soul by his side."

You see the sad look even after their death

"As I recall, last week Hai Pa reported about a heartbreaking case, in which Zaka volunteers arrived at an apartment in Haifa, and before their eyes they discovered a horrific sight, a body that was all that was left of it was a skeleton and bones. Says Smet, "These are human beings," says Smet, "We see the person in the lowest state of lows. These are people who have been forgotten and not noticed. People who are lonely or whose family lives in another country. We arrive at homes and find a body in a state of decay The body of a person who tried to take a shower and slipped and was not even there to help him. The body of a person with illnesses who had no one to take care of him in the last moments and hold his hand. We see bodies in a condition that is difficult to describe in words, we see the sad look even after their death."

A silent epidemic in the State of Israel

This is a silent epidemic in the State of Israel. We are in 2023, in a progressive country and the whole world is progressing. It is so sad that some of our best people who fought wars for us and thanks to them we live here, there is no one to fight for them and they die in the most horrible way. We must not, as a people, as human beings, let this thing continue to happen."

Since the beginning of 2023, 12 bodies have already been found in a state of decay. In Kiryat, it was about an elderly mother who found her son in a state of decay, who was known to have underlying illnesses, but there was no one to take care of him. The body of the man found in Haifa was that of a 50-year-old man who was hospitalized due to cancer, but in the last weeks before his death there was no one to hold his hand in his last moments.

"Everyone deserves to die with dignity"

They die lonely and it breaks the heart. Think of a 70-year-old woman whose neighbor comes every evening to say good night or good morning, the day she doesn't answer he will be able to know that something happened and that neighbor will also feel safe that if something happens to her she will shout and ask for help. But a person who knows anyway that no one cares... they die with a sad look. We don't blame anyone, our goal is to raise awareness. Every human being deserves to die with dignity.

Not long ago we arrived at the house of an elderly woman, about 80 years old, she wanted to take a shower and slipped and lay in the shower for 4-5 hours. The son, who lives in another city and was used to talking to her every morning, contacted us after his mother did not answer for hours."

"I can't eat for two weeks, the smell sticks to my clothes and remains in my memory"

Regarding the volunteers' coping, Smet says: "We cannot cope with these difficult things, what happens in such an arena accompanies us all the time. We come to carry out the task for the honor of the dead. The organization has a psychologist, and those who have difficulty coping are taken care of, to strengthen resilience, and that It's sad. There are volunteers who, for two weeks or more, are unable to eat, because of the smell, which sticks to their clothes and remains in their memory. We see our volunteering as a sacred task, and are happy that at least we treat them with respect on their last journey," he says.

"It can be prevented, today"

"It is true that where there is life there is also death, but not in this way. It is in the hands of each and every one of us to prevent this. There are many entities that need to gather and unite together - the municipality, the property tax department, the electric company, the water corporations. They can put Note if something happens, if they install a digital water meter or a digital electricity meter, there are many solutions. It has often happened that people have taken a shower, slipped and died and the water continued to flow until they reached the neighbors. You can put sensors Next to the medicine drawer or in the refrigerator, and so pay attention in case the drawer or the refrigerator does not open. There are emergency buttons, there are all these things that must be used to prevent people from dying in such a terrible situation, when they are lonely and sad... Once all the authorities and bodies take this thing into their hands. In order to improve the service, we can already prevent more stories like this today."

Yifat Mizrahi, a clinical social worker, an expert in mental health in old age and coordinator of the field of old age knowledge at the Central School of Social Work of the Ministry of Welfare, said to Lahi Fe:
"The solution to the situation is a pooling of resources between several authorities. First, the local authority must treat the situation as a first priority. Second, regular meetings must be held between representatives of the welfare department in the municipality, the supervision of the Ministry of Health, police representatives and representatives of senior citizens in the neighborhoods, when cases of Continuous neglect in the community and the ways to prevent it. Thirdly, mapping of the individual citizens must be done, contacting and monitoring them at least twice a week. Fourthly - make use of digital means to monitor the condition of individual people."