Family of missing girl goes to court over protest tent — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, the family of Haimanot Kassau, supported by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, has appealed to the Jerusalem District Court seeking permission to set up a protest tent near the prime minister’s office in the city’s government quarter. As The Jerusalem Post reports, the family is asking for approval to hold the action from September 23 to October 22, 2026.
The girl’s parents, Tesfaye and Benchie Kassau, are trying to draw attention to her disappearance. Haimanot disappeared on February 25, 2024, at the age of nine from an absorption center in Safed, where she lived with her family. She has not been found since.
The parents have conducted a public campaign demanding that the search for the child be intensified. In particular, they protested outside the offices of the Lahav 433 unit and took part in a march in Tel Aviv.
Municipality’s refusal
Previously, the family repeatedly asked the Jerusalem Municipality to permit the installation of a tent near government institutions. City authorities rejected applications to place tents near the Supreme Court, close to the Knesset, and on Gaza and Balfour streets opposite the prime minister’s official residence.
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On Wednesday, the municipality’s legal adviser rejected a request from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel that had been submitted the day before. It concerned setting up a tent at the intersection of Zussman and Kaplan streets near the prime minister’s office. The municipality said that a prolonged placement of the tent could cause problems with sanitation, safety, and accessibility of the area, as well as hinder its public use.
Position of the family’s representatives
Lawyers Oded Feller and Eden Gilad, who filed the appeal on behalf of the family, said that the city authorities’ decision was based on general reservations and broad policy rather than a specific danger posed by the proposed tent.
The appeal states that freedom of protest has constitutional status and that locations near centers of state power are important for exercising this right. The family’s representatives also believe that the municipality failed to balance public interests with the parents’ right to protest and demand answers from officials.
