Police arrested a suspect Wednesday morning in the murder of Rabbi Amos Guetta, a revered kabbalist stabbed to death at his home in Netanya just hours earlier, with investigators saying the attacker was a young man in his twenties who had previously studied under the rabbi.
The attack occurred at around 5:40 a.m., when police received a report of a stabbing at Rabbi Guetta's home on Shimon Bar Yochai Street. Magen David Adom paramedics who responded found the rabbi in critical condition with severe penetrating wounds and evacuated him to Laniado Hospital while performing resuscitation, but doctors were unable to save him.
Officers from the Netanya police station launched an immediate manhunt for the suspect, who fled the scene. Detectives and officers from the Sharon district's crime-fighting unit spread a search net across the city center and located the suspect roughly two hours later, taking him into custody for questioning.
According to the initial investigation, the suspect, a Netanya resident in his twenties, used to frequent the rabbi's yeshiva. Police say he arrived at Rabbi Guetta's home Wednesday morning, stabbed him and fled. Netanya station commander Chief Superintendent Kobi Abutbul confirmed the murder weapon was recovered at the scene and is now in police custody. Abutbul said police clearly identify the suspect as someone who frequented the site and was part of that community, though the motive and circumstances behind the attack are still being investigated. Police believe the suspect may be dealing with a mental health crisis, though the precise details are still being examined.
Central District Commander Major General Amir Cohen arrived at the scene and conducted an assessment with investigators, assigning the case to the Sharon district crime-fighting unit. He expressed deep shock over the killing and extended condolences to the rabbi's family and many students.
In an unusual move, the director of Israel's National Institute of Forensic Medicine, Dr. Chen Kugel, personally came to Laniado Hospital along with a forensic pathology team to carry out the examinations needed to release the rabbi's body for burial, working alongside ZAKA volunteers from Tel Aviv.
Police are now preparing to secure Rabbi Guetta's funeral procession, which is expected to draw thousands of mourners. United Hatzalah's Netanya branch said its ambulances, along with paramedics and volunteer medics from across the country, will provide medical coverage along the funeral route, with motorcycle medics on standby for rapid response if needed.
Rabbi Guetta's death has left the Torah world in shock and mourning. Born in Libya in 1951, he immigrated to Israel with his family and became known as a righteous kabbalist devoted to drawing people closer to their faith. For decades he served as a spiritual beacon for residents of Netanya and the surrounding area, raising many students. In his youth he worked as a postal carrier and briefly began studying medicine before leaving it all behind to devote himself to Torah study, eventually studying at the Or HaTorah kollel in Netanya and founding a beit midrash that became a flourishing spiritual center. He continued teaching and drawing people closer to Torah until the moment his life was cut short.
