Gag order placed on investigation into murder of Jewish man in Kafr Qassem

A court on Wednesday imposed a gag order on details of a joint police-Shin Bet investigation into the suspected murder of a Jewish man in the Israeli Arab city of Kfar Qassem.

Reuven Schmerling, 69, from the West Bank settlement of Elkana, was found lifeless on Wednesday afternoon in the city’s industrial zone with “signs of violence” on the body, police said. Initial reports indicated he was stabbed; some Hebrew reports said he had also been badly beaten.

Schmerling, a father of four, was set to celebrate his 70th birthday on Thursday. He owned a coal business in Kafr Qassem, about a half-hour drive from Elkana. His body was found in one of the business’s storage units.

The motive for the suspected murder was still being investigated as the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, joined the probe. Security forces said they were looking at all possible avenues, including a possible work-related row between Schmerling and his workers.

The Shin Bet said earlier it was also checking whether the suspected murder was perpetrated for nationalistic reasons.

Asaf Mizner, head of Elkana Regional council, said the settlement was in “total shock and sorrow together with the family over Reuven’s terrible murder.”

Mizner told Channel 10 earlier that when a “70-year-old Jewish man is found slaughtered… in Kafr Qassem, there’s nothing to conclude but a nationalistically motivated attack.”

Mizner said that Schmerling’s family, including his four children and 17 grandchildren, had gathered in Elkana to celebrate his birthday Wednesday, as the Jewish holiday of Sukkot began at sundown.

Schmerling’s body was discovered in the storage unit by one of his sons, who alerted police and emergency services.

Paramedics declared Schmerling dead at the scene. Channel 2 reported that he may have been deceased for several hours before he was discovered in the early afternoon.

The police and the Shin Bet said the investigation was ongoing.

The head of security for Kaft Qassem, Khaled Issa, told Channel 10 that Schmerling “was a known figure in the city” and “this is a sad incident that has all of us in shock.”

Issa said Kfar Qassem is known as a place for “partnership between Jews and Arabs” and where “everyone works in harmony.”

גופת גבר יהודי שנדקר נמצאה בכפר קאסם https://t.co/iecXAV3jNy

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Kafr Qassem has witnessed several murders in recent months that are believed to have been criminally motivated even as they remain unsolved.

Town residents have criticized the police’s failure to crack down on crime in the city.

In June, President Reuven Rivlin met with the town’s mayor, Adel Badir, and Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem to discuss ways of restoring calm after a security guard shot dead a resident, Mohammed Taha, 27, while rioters attacked a local police station.

The guard who shot Taha, who has not been named in the media, was questioned by police and released. Taha’s family had accused the guard of murder.