Teacher Fatally Shot in Lod While Holding Daughter on Lap

A mother of three, Rabab Abu Siam, was shot to death on Tuesday in her backyard in the central Israeli city of Lod, even though local police and social workers knew her life was in danger ahead of the killing. The 30-year-old elementary school teacher was shot while her 2-year-old daughter was playing on her lap.

The scene of the crime in Lod, Tuesday, July 28, 2022 (Photo: Magen David Adom)

Abu Siam, a mother of three, was in her garden on the city’s Ben Yehuda Street when witnesses said they heard shots, then saw a white car fleeing from the scene. She had recently been divorced, with those close to her saying that her ex-husband had repeatedly threatened her, forcing her to flee the city.

Abu Siam had been warned by police not to return to the city without alerting the authorities, although it was unclear if her ex-husband had been formally warned or arrested at any stage.

Pushing back against the police comments, which appeared to at least partially blame the victim, the head of the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women, MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash – Joint List), told the Kan public broadcaster that the protection of women is the responsibility of everyone. “Women can’t be locked up in shelters all their lives,” said Touma-Sliman. “I don’t have any faith the police are doing everything they can,” she said. Hadash activists have long complained that not enough is done to prevent violence against women in Israel, particularly in cases known to the authorities.

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=30419