Israeli body snatching case sparks police hunt

JERUSALEM, Jan 28 (Reuters) Israeli police said today they had retrieved the corpse of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman snatched by devout Jews who mistakenly feared an autopsy would be conducted on her, believing it was desecration of the dead.

The case highlighted the ever-growing divide between the ultra-Orthodox population, which comprises around 15 per cent of Israel's 5.4 million Jews, and their counterparts who favour the secular laws on which the Israeli state is based.

The 40-year-old woman's body was first discovered yesterday in an open field in an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood of Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

''Several hundred members of the ultra-Orthodox community approached policemen at the scene and injured four officers and snatched the body,'' he said.

''We did not ask to carry out an autopsy on the woman. They grabbed the body thinking we wanted to carry one out.'' Rosenfeld said there was no sign of violence on the corpse or any indication of criminality.

After an extensive police search and lengthy negotiations with rabbis, the ultra-Orthodox community handed the body over to a hospital today for an external examination to determine the cause of death. The body was later buried.

Under Jewish law, or halacha in Hebrew, bodies must be buried intact to ensure respect for the dead. Medical examination of bodies can only be conducted if there are sufficient grounds such as saving or preserving lives.

Police can only carry out autopsies in Israel if there are signs of violence or if it is considered a criminal case, and only then with the consent of the family.

But ultra-Orthodox Jews, known as Haredim, remain sceptical that authorities show enough sensitivity.

''There is no faith among Haredim in the secular police force which in the past has taken bodies away for examination, which have ended up being completely cut up,'' said Israel Eichler, a well known Haredi commentator and former Israeli lawmaker.

Eichler said snatching bodies was uncommon, describing it as ''acts by individuals'' without approval from rabbinical leaders.

Last year police gave up a search for the corpse of a baby girl, who was taken by Haredim. Authorities at the time said they believed the tiny corpse had been secretly buried after it was removed from a morgue in the coastal city of Ashkelon.

Police had wanted an autopsy of the baby, who was believed to have died after her ultra-Orthodox parents gave her herbal remedies rather than prescribed antibiotics, to determine whether the death was due to negligence.

REUTERS SP KP2201