Justice, O Justice, where art thou?

Marshmallows at a bonfire

A child's recent death at Aleh Negev has received meager coverage. In fact, as far as I can tell, it was not reported in English anywhere.

Below is my translation of a version of the tragedy as published by a Hebrew news service:

Death of A Girl at a Rehabilitation Village: Police to Investigate Suspicion of Negligence 

The funeral of five and a half year old girl from Ashdod who choked to death from eating a candy at the rehabilitation village Aleh Negev near Ofakim was held today. Staff members at the village who were witnesses gave testimony to police and are expected to give further testimony as the investigation progresses.
The girl, who apparently choked while eating a marshmallow, was buried today at the cemetery in Ashdod where she lived. Prior to the funeral, a dispute erupted over carrying out an autopsy on the girl's body. Last night, the police requested an order authorizing an autopsy from the Magistrates Court in Beer Sheva due to suspicions of negligence.
The court acquiesced and determined that an external exam should made concurrent with the freedom to do an autopsy.
This morning, attorney Dror Shusheim of Zaka's legal department submitted an appeal to the High Court of Justice and minutes before the hearing the State Prosecutor announced that the State accepts the appeal and is releasing the body without an autopsy.

As we all are aware, marshmallows pose a choking risk even for non-disabled children. This girl attended a school at Aleh which caters - as Aleh itself boasts incessantly - to children with severe disabilities!

In fact, several of the reports I saw conveyed a response from Aleh which included the following (again, my translation from Hebrew):

"Due to her complex medical condition since birth, the girl was cared for during a prolonged stay in the complex nursing section of the village with much devotion by our devoted professional staff who cared for her from the day she arrived. About a year ago, thanks to her improved condition, the girl was released to live in the community, medical oversight continuing within the framework of the health fund (kupat holim in Hebrew) to which she belonged and she received therapies to improve her development within the framework of the special-ed school at the (Aleh) village."  

These notes are extracted from an official New York State health-focused website:

Choking Prevention for Children | Choking Injuries and Deaths are Preventable!

Choking Hazards | Foods:
Hot dogs (especially cut into a coin shape), meats, sausages, and fish with bones
Popcorn, chips, pretzel nuggets, and snack foods
Candy (especially hard or sticky candy), cough drops, gum, lollipops, marshmallows, caramels, hard candies, and jelly beans
Whole grapes, raw vegetables, raw peas, fruits, fruits with skins, seeds, carrots, celery, and cherries
Dried fruits, sunflower seeds, all nuts, including peanuts
Peanut butter, (especially in spoonfuls or with soft white bread)
Ice cubes and cheese cubes
Foods that clump, are sticky or slippery, or dry and hard textured
Food size and shape, especially round or a shape that could conform to the shape and size of the trachea (windpipe). The size of a young child's trachea (windpipe) or breathing tube is approximately the size of a drinking straw in diameter.

From Kol Ha'Ir Jerusalem, May 26, 2000

Back in the year 2000, a similar tragedy occurred at an Aleh institution.

In that case too, the resident, an 18 year old, died

"after she choked apparently as a result of aspiration - the inhalation of the stomach's contents into the lungs. A doctor at the institution testified that after the youth received her meal and despite her previous incidents of aspiration, she was left unsupervised. "The caregiver came to turn her over and found her completely blue", the doctor said."

The journalist who wrote the report of the incident [copied on the right] told me that the case was closed by police because the family of the child refused to authorize an autopsy.

His brief article appeared in the local Jerusalem paper a clipping of which I saved.

There is more to say on this.

A few fabulous firsts

Chaya has chalked up several off-the-beaten-path experiences that I've been derelict in relating. (No valid excuse for that other than 24 hours just doesn't cut it for me these days).

Chaya, my husband and I went to Sha'arei Zedek to have blood taken for her first whole exome sequencing. Our blood will only be used for comparison in the event that something positive comes up in her test. The geneticist forewarned us that there's only a 20% chance of that happening. Meaning, we're most likely to be left with the presumption that a spontaneous mutation caused her disabilities. 

But since genetic testing is still relatively in its infancy, there will probably be new tests available in the future. Chaya's blood will be stored for future use.

Chaya has returned to the therapy pool - and to her regular bathing suit - with a new hydrotherapist. As I wrote a while ago, her previous permanent therapist dumped her because she was getting too stressed by Chaya's occasional seizures during sessions. The therapist who took over and was nearly as competent as the first, has left the school. 

So we tried out a new one which the school offered us. After two sessions with her, I believe I can safely declare her to be unequivocally perfect! Here she is with Chaya (above),

That beloved wetsuit I've been lauding is stashed away for now, unnecessary in the well- heated therapy pool. Besides, we're having a heat wave and transporting Chaya in a wetsuit to the cooler pool where I work with her would be a torture for her. I'll miss giving her those longer 40-45 minute sessions. She only gets 30 at this school. 

But the transporting is also a strain for my husband who is in the throes of a debilitating case of CMV.

Chaya went swinging for the first time in her life. On Pesach, we had a family gathering in Zur Hadassah where we discovered a swing for children with disabilities. It doesn't accommodate a wheelchair but it was a treat nonetheless. So here she is (in the photo) discovering the sensation of swinging.

Remembering Malki; remembering justice

I am certain that along with all of us, the grieving families, Jews everywhere are taking a few moments today to remember the innocents who were snatched from us before their time through battle and terrorism.

As we do both on Malki's yahrzeit - the 20th day of the month of Av - and on Yom Hazikaron today, we have lit a candle. And I have opened her diary.

I struggle to read the tiny script with which she recorded both her innermost feelings alongside her mundane recollections of every day in her last year. It is nothing short of a torture. Invariably I unearth words that highlight what a uniquely kind, generous, gifted and innocent soul Malki was.

Three days before Yom Hazikaron of that year, 2001, there was a human-bomb attack on a bus in Kfar Saba. As with every terror attack,, Malki recorded the details in red pen: 

"There was a suicide attack this morning in Kfar Saba. Thank G-d there were no fatalities but there were many injured and one is in a serious condition." 

(The corner of Weizman and Tchernichovsky streets in Kfar Sava, April 21, 2001: One innocent person killed, about 60 injured, two severely. Hamas for which Tamimi worked claimed responsibility.)

From Malki's diary, April 2001

She then proceeded in black ink to relate her difficulties in getting to school on time, how exhausted she was, that she reset her alarm, that she waited three-quarters of an hour for her bus which was jam-packed and that she finally arrived at the end of her Literature class.

I flipped a few pages forward and found that on Sunday, the day before Shavuot she had written:

"I finally helped Mommy loads. I truly helped her prepare the food and it gave me a really good feeling. Bubby (Grandma) is coming for the holiday."

Remember, her murderer, Ahlam Tamimi, lives free in Jordan, unrepentant and proud of the massacre she perpetrated which took the lives of sixteen Jewish men, women and children. 

To date, the efforts my husband and I have made to have her extradited from Jordan to the United States pursuant to her indictment in 2017 have borne no fruit. But we have not given up the struggle. 

"צדק, צדק תרדוף!" remains our guiding tenet.