Mally and Liel Yehalomi break silence after return

About a week after their return to Israel, Mali and Liel Yahalomi are breaking their silence for the first time. "We are in the hardest period of our lives, after going through very difficult days," the mother and daughter said in a statement to Ynet.

"We never asked for this publicity and did not want to cause worry," they added. "Right now we are asking to rebuild our lives, and we are asking for a bit of compassion, time and quiet in order to get through the difficult days ahead of us."

The first public statement from the mother and daughter comes after a long period of anxiety and searches, which began with their disappearance in Vienna in August and their discovery in Argentina. The two landed at Ben Gurion Airport last Wednesday, covered in sun hats and wearing identical clothing, and refused to speak with the journalists who were waiting for them.

The two added an intriguing message for the future: "When we feel that we are capable of it mentally, we will share our story."

Attorney Shanit Ben Shoshan, who represents them, said last week that the two "went through a very difficult period, and at this stage the most important thing is to allow them to return to routine, to be with their family and to recover from what they went through." Ben Shoshon clarified that according to police sources, no suspicion of criminal activity arose in the actions of the two.

Meanwhile, the satire program "Eretz Nehederet" published a preview showing a parody of them. The two urgently contacted the program's production with an unequivocal demand to prevent the broadcast of the sketch, according to the Ynet report.

Ben Shoshan sent a sharp and pointed appeal to the program's production in which she clarified the severity of the situation: "This is a request that truly touches on matters of life and death. Do not turn their story into a sketch and do not give it another platform within the program."

She added: "Behind the headlines and the media story stand two women, a mother and daughter, who went through a mental upheaval that was not simple, to put it mildly. We do not know what the consequences of such additional public exposure could be for them."

Their disappearance aroused wide public interest in recent months. The two disappeared in Vienna in August, and after intensive searches were located in Argentina. During the period, the Privacy Protection Authority ordered the Israel Police to conduct a comprehensive investigation on suspicion of violation of their privacy, following the publication of footage and sensitive personal information in the media.