Million-Shekel Reward Campaign Launched for Missing Haimanot Kassau

An Israeli nationwide campaign was launched Monday to renew efforts to find Haimanot Kassau, who disappeared at age 9 from an absorption center in Safed on February 25, 2024. It has been 841 days since she was last seen, and despite extensive searches using special means and an intensive investigation by the Lahav 433 national crime unit, police say they still have no lead.

The campaign, initiated by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and the Jewish Agency with the family’s full consent, uses artificial intelligence. Billboards and news sites are showing a simulated image of Haimanot, alongside a short video in which she appears to approach the screen and tap it with her fingers, in an effort to revive public attention and generate a breakthrough. The project is run by the Web3 advertising agency, and the ministry and the Jewish Agency have allocated hundreds of thousands of shekels to fund it.

The ads say, "We must find Haimanot. If you have information, call 100 police." At the same time, a reward of 1 million shekels was offered for information leading to her location.

The launch coincided with an oversight hearing by the Knesset Committee on Aliyah, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, chaired by MK Gilad Kariv of the Labor Party. Kariv welcomed the effort but said it was only the first step, calling for planning a follow-up campaign during the peak summer months and promising another tracking hearing in July. A ministry spokesman said the billboards were going up first in northern Israel, especially around Safed, with additional signs in major cities, and that the digital campaign would begin on the 26th. Haimanot’s father, Tesfaye Kassau, thanked the participants and said the family wants the involvement of all government and security bodies, including the Shin Bet, so they can return to normal life. Titi Aynao, the family’s public advocate, said the publicity must be nationwide because there is still no lead. The Education Ministry said it is examining a sensitive school-based awareness plan through the educational psychology service.