112% Surge in Orphans Due to Femicide Leaves Children Unprotected
Translated & summarized from Maariv by baba
A report by the Michal Sela Forum indicates a 112% surge in children orphaned by femicide in Israel, with 241 children losing their mothers to domestic violence since 2020. The year 2025 saw a record 51 new orphans. The forum's founder, Lili Ben Ami, is calling for improved state support for these children, highlighting the lack of adequate resources and the ongoing trauma they face. The report also notes a disproportionately high number of victims from the Arab community.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- 241 children have been orphaned due to their mothers' murders in Israel since 2020.
- Orphans from femicide increased by 112.5% in 2025, reaching a record 51 children.
- 39.8% of mothers murdered in family violence cases in recent years were from the Arab community.
- The Michal Sela Forum founder, Lili Ben Ami, criticizes the lack of state support for orphaned children.
- A call is made for a dedicated government official to assist families affected by domestic murders.
A new report by the Michal Sela Forum reveals a shocking increase in children orphaned by the murder of their mothers, with 241 children losing their mothers to domestic violence since 2020. Of these, 33 have been orphaned since the beginning of 2026. The forum's founder, Lili Ben Ami, is sounding the alarm about the insufficient support for these children, calling them a "transparent front."
In a disturbing trend, five mothers and one fiancée were stabbed to death by their partners in their homes within a recent five-week period. The year 2025 saw a record 51 new orphans due to family murders, a dramatic 112.5% increase from the 24 orphans in 2024. The first ten months of 2026 have already seen four children murdered by their fathers and one survivor of an attempted murder by his stepfather, double the annual average.
Between 2020 and November 8, 2026, 241 children in Israel became orphans following 88 murders of mothers within the family. The average annual number of minors orphaned by family murder is 35.2. In 2025, the number of new orphans reached a grim 51.
Analysis of the victims shows that 39.8% of the murdered mothers were from the Arab community, a proportion significantly higher than their representation in the general population. While most murdered mothers were Jewish (52.3%), the Arab community's share was disproportionately high. Foreign nationals accounted for 4.5% of victims, and 3.4% had unlisted origins. Among the 241 orphans, 52.7% are from the Jewish community and 42.3% from the Arab community.
Ben Ami emphasized the ongoing trauma for these children, stating, "Children in this horrific situation of family murder experience a never-ending nightmare beyond the murder itself." She criticized the state for not providing regular public data, relying instead on non-profits funded by donations. Ben Ami urged the government to establish a professional system to support these children and their caregivers immediately after such events, suggesting the appointment of a dedicated victim's officer, similar to military casualty officers, to serve as a central point of contact with authorities.
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