Rabbi Amos Kamus Chaim Guetta, a revered 75-year-old kabbalist and the head of Yeshivat Rabbi Yitzchak Chai Tayeb in Netanya, was stabbed to death early Wednesday morning inside his yeshiva on Shimon Bar Yochai Street in the city's Neot Herzl neighborhood.
The attack occurred shortly before 5:45 a.m., just before the start of morning prayers. According to Walla and Behadrei Haredim, Rabbi Guetta, who had been largely bedridden over the past six months due to a medical condition, was stabbed four times while lying in his bed inside the yeshiva building where he resided. Magen David Adom medics who rushed to the scene found him unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing, suffering from severe penetrating wounds. Paramedics performed extended resuscitation efforts at the scene and continued them en route to Laniado Hospital, where doctors were ultimately forced to pronounce his death.
Police said the suspect, a man in his twenties from Netanya, was known to Rabbi Guetta and was reportedly a regular presence at the yeshiva and part of the rabbi's inner circle. According to initial findings cited by Ynet and Israel National News, an argument broke out between the suspect and the rabbi following prayers, after which the suspect drew a knife he had concealed and attacked. The yeshiva's gabbai, who attempted to intervene and restrain the assailant, was also injured in the struggle but managed to escape further harm.
The suspect fled the scene, prompting a large-scale manhunt led by Netanya police and the Sharon district investigative unit. Netanya station commander Chief Superintendent Kobi Abutbul described the operation to reporters Wednesday morning, saying officers received the initial report around six o'clock and mounted an intensive search that ultimately located the suspect in the city center within the hour. He was taken into custody and transferred for questioning; Walla reported he was also being sent for psychiatric evaluation. Israeli police later confirmed that his remand was extended at the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court and that a gag order has been placed on further details of the investigation for the coming days.
Rabbi Guetta was widely known throughout Netanya and beyond as a spiritual guide who devoted decades to kiruv, the outreach and spiritual rehabilitation of struggling individuals. He served as rabbi of the city's Libyan Jewish community and led his yeshiva, located in a neighborhood that has long faced social and economic hardship, as a refuge for young people, penitents, and even individuals with difficult criminal histories, according to a profile published by Behadrei Haredim. Those who knew him described a rabbi with an open door and an open heart who refused to turn anyone away.
Tributes poured in throughout the day. Netanya Mayor Avi Salman wrote that the city had lost a giant of Torah and kindness who for years illuminated the path of tens of thousands of residents and served as a source of blessing and guidance for families in Israel and around the world. Israel's Chief Rabbi, David Yosef, eulogized Rabbi Guetta as one of the last of a generation of the truly devout, a scholar whose humility and radiant character drew multitudes and produced many disciples. The Shas movement released a statement expressing profound shock at what it called the sudden and terrible loss of a great sage who for decades spread Torah and worked to draw the estranged closer through pleasant ways. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who said he knew the rabbi personally, called the killing a shocking and difficult act and vowed that police would act with determination to bring the killer to justice.
Rabbi Guetta's funeral was held Wednesday afternoon at the Shikun Vatikim cemetery in Netanya, with thousands of mourners in attendance, among them the Sanz Rebbe. Police closed several streets in the city to accommodate the funeral procession and provided security throughout.
The killing came amid a wrenching morning across Israel, with two additional fatal shootings reported within roughly an hour of the Netanya attack, in Yagur and in Shfaram, though police have not indicated any connection between those incidents and the murder of Rabbi Guetta.
