Officials suspect that the murder of 19-year-old Tekoa resident Ori Ansbacher in Jerusalem on Thursday was perpetrated out of terrorist motives, security officials reported on Friday.
Dozens of police, Shin Bet security agency personnel, Israel Defense Forces and Border Police have been operating in Jerusalem since early Friday morning.
At 7:14 p.m. on Thursday, the emergency-services hotline in Jerusalem was informed that a young woman had been found unconscious near the Ein Yael living museum in Jerusalem. Magen David Adom paramedics were scrambled to the scene.
Paramedic Sefi Mizrahi said, “When we got there, we were led to an open space where we saw a young woman, unconscious, not breathing and with no heartbeat. We checked her medically. There were no signs of life, and unfortunately, there was nothing we could do but declare her dead.”
“The late Ori Ansbacher was murdered in Jerusalem last night with shocking brutality,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday. “At this difficult hour, we all embrace the Ansbacher family and the Tekoa community. The security forces are investigating the murder. We will find those responsible and deal with them to the fullest extent of the law.”
Ansbacher was performing her national service at Ein Yael. Police suspect that she was attacked while hiking. She is survived by her parents and four siblings.
“She was a holy spirit,” her parents said on Friday. “She looked for meaning in things; she was sensitive to every person and creature and had an endless desire to do good in the world,” they said.
One of Ansbacher’s teachers recalls her late student as “a smart, honest girl with an open mind who thought creatively. She was loved by everyone around her, and she was sensitive to others.”
An official message of condolence went out from her home community of Tekoa: “The community is mourning and pained at the premature death of Ori Ansbacher.”
Head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council Shlomo Naaman said, “The late Ori Ansbacher, a pure soul, a native of Tekoa, a native of Gush Etzion. An innocent girl from a dear family. As part of her national service, she devoted her young, beautiful years to taking care of young people.
“There are no words that can comfort her family after such a horrific murder. We appeal to the police, the security forces and all decision-makers, and demand that whoever the despicable murderers are be brought to justice.”
Ansbacher will be laid to rest in Tekoa on Friday afternoon.