Holocaust survivor who burned nurse to death charged with murder

An elderly Holocaust survivor accused of burning a nurse to death at a Holon clinic was indicted on murder charges at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court Wednesday morning.

According to the indictment, Asher Faraj, 77, became angry after the flu shot he received from 55 year-old career nurse Tova Kararo on March 1 made him feel weak and unwell.

On March 14, Faraj returned to the clinic to receive blood tests, bringing with him a lighter and bottle of flammable liquid. When Kararo came to draw his blood, he poured the liquid on her and lit it aflame, killing the nurse.

Faraj fled the scene in his car, but was caught by police at the city’s exit after a chase. During questioning, he reportedly told investigators, “I didn’t want to harm anyone — only to throw a burning bottle.”

At a hearing following the arrest, his attorneys told the court that he suffers from an unspecified mental illness, and his family had previously sought psychiatric care.

The incident prompted much of Israel’s health care, education and social work systems to shut down for two hours the next morning in protest against recent acts of violence directed at staff.

Just over a week after Kararo’s murder, a 66-year-old man from the same central city was arrested for threatening to set medical staff on fire.

According to official government figures, there were 3,000 reported cases of violence or abuse against health personnel in hospitals, clinics and emergency services between 2014 and 2016.

Approximately 75 percent of those attacks were verbal abuse. One-quarter of the attacks were physical assaults against medical staff or their security. Three-quarters of the attacks took place in hospitals, especially in emergency rooms.