Lod resident Yigal Yehoshua, 56, who was set up and beaten by Arab rioters last Tuesday, who also threw rocks at him, succumbed to his wounds on Monday.
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Yehoshua is survived by his wife, Irina, and two sons, ages 22 and eight. Irina announced that she intended to donate his organs, because her late husband had always wanted to help others whenever he could.
"He always said he would give life to others," Irina said. "This was his last wish, and when we realized the situation was dire, we made the decision to honor it."
Yehoshua's family and friends found it difficult to accept the news that he had died of his wounds.
"He was an amazing guy with a huge heart who always helped everyone. The family and friends are destroyed," friends said.
"He worked as an electrician. Both Arabs and Jews knew him and he always provided service with no problems, without differentiating between people. He had Arab friends, too. He offered service for free, too, especially to Holocaust survivors, but not only to them," they said.
On Monday, a new lead developed in the hunt for Yehoshua's killers. Israel Hayom learned that the police had the names of three suspects suspected to be in hiding after fleeing the city. Police are still investigating the fatal attack in conjunction with the Major Crimes Unit and the Shin Bet security agency.
Some Arab residents of Lod announced on social media that the assault was revenge for a shooting attack that had wounded Arab youth Musa Hassona a day earlier.
Yehoshua was the first Jewish fatality in the Lod rioting, but last week more than 10 people were wounded, one from gunshots. A man who had been targeted by rock-throwers was listed in serious condition.
A general strike in the Arab sector was scheduled for Tuesday, and slated to include all business sectors, public services, and the school system, other than special education and high school matriculation prep.
"The strike is a protest against the Gaza war, the attack on Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and against the Arab public in general and in mixed cities in particular," a statement from the Arab Higher Monitoring Committee read.
"This is a civil protest with a clear political address. The Arab Monitoring Committee demands that the fascist gangs be removed from the cities, and indicted; the release of hundreds of Arabs under arrest; and an investigation into police violence against Arab citizens," the committee continued.
In addition, the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah announced its own general strike throughout Judea and Samaria, which was scheduled to affect all business sectors, public services, healthcare, and the PA school system.
A curfew remained in place in Lod over Shavuot, which began Sunday evening, and the state of civilian emergency was expected to continue for some days more. Police were still deployed throughout the city, both in the streets and around religious sites – Jewish, Christian, and Arab – for fear they would be targets of vandalism. On Monday, police reported that another six residents of the city had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the recent rioting and shooting at police, as well as throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails.
On the eve of Shavuot, Ra'am leader MK Mansour Abbas visited Lod and met with Mayor Yair Revivo. He also visited the Beit Yisrael synagogue, one of eight in the city that had been torched.
"Holy places must not be attacked, and anyone who does goes against Islam," Abbas said.
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"This cannot be accepted, just like attacks on our mosques pain us. Violence of any kind is a red line. We need to look ahead and start rebuilding the holy places and repairing relations," he added.
Jaffa, also the scene of recent violence between Arabs and Jews, has been marked by a tense quiet for the past few days, with the number of public disturbances dropping. Unknown persons cut off the gas line to a building near Jaffa Port whose occupants are mostly Jewish. A group of Arabs also approached a public bomb shelter in an attempt to set it on fire. An Arab security guard convinced the would-be arsonists to cancel their plan.
Meanwhile, police are operating drones over Jaffa in an attempt to prevent further rioting. The drone surveillance, combined with ground operations, is intended to allow the police to identify and prevent serious crimes, including arson and assault. In one instance, police spotted trash bins being set on fire. The drone indicated in which direction the perpetrator had run and where he was hiding, helping them find and arrest a 21-year-old Jaffa man.
Haifa, Acre, and the western Galilee were also relatively quiet during the holiday. A large contingent of Border Police and Israel Police special forces were patrolling mixed cities, while teams of city workers were busy cleaning up the streets and setting out new trash bins, traffic lights, and signage to replace the ones destroyed by vandals. In Acre, dozens of local residents volunteered to help the cleanup efforts.
