Haymanot Kasau's parents demand equal resources after missing mother, daughter found in one week

ByBATYA GILADIAUGUST 16, 2026 09:23Updated: AUGUST 16, 2026 09:27The family of Haymanot Kasau, who has been missing for more than 900 days, has renewed their push for a more extensive search into her disappearance following the discovery of Mali and Liel Yahalomi in Argentina only about a week after they disappeared in Vienna and following an extensive search operation by the Israel Police in Israel and abroad.Haymanot's family is demanding that the same capabilities and resources used in the search for Mali and Liel also be employed in the investigation into her disappearance, and is calling for the case to be transferred to the Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency).A statement from the campaign headquarters seeking Haymanot's return home said that "With the mother and daughter having been found and Israel Police succeeding in solving the investigation, its helplessness in investigating Haymanot's abduction stands out even more, and therefore the family is demanding that the investigation be transferred to the Shin Bet."Haymanot's parents, Benchi and Tesfaye Kasau, also responded to the discovery of the two women, saying that alongside their joy that the case ended safely, they could not help but compare the efforts invested in that search with the handling of their daughter's case."After Shabbat ended, we received the happy news that Mali and Liel Yahalomi had been found safe and well. Once again, a happy ending, except it is not our happy ending. Our Haymanot has not been with us for 902 days. 902 days have passed since our little daughter was abducted."Supporters of missing girl Haimanot Kassau seen protesting on August 12, 2026. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)The parents added, "Haymanot was 9 years old; she did not choose to disappear, she did not choose not to come home, and despite this, not everything possible has been done to find her. Israel Police, under the direction of Inspector-General Danny Levy, used all of its capabilities to find Mali and Liel, but what have they done for our Haymanot? Lahav 433 has investigated half the world to find them, and they still don't meet with us or update us properly."We are once again asking Israel Police to transfer the investigation into Haymanot's abduction to the Shin Bet, and that Police Commissioner Inspector-General Danny Levy and Lahav 433 head Commissioner Meni Binyamin, who have failed to find any lead in the investigation, transfer the case to the Shin Bet because our girl is still not here."In an appeal to the public, the parents said, "And to the dear people of Israel, whose citizens continue to show us the light amid all the darkness, and we understand that many of them, like us, have expressed their anger over the discrimination in the handling of the investigation into Haymanot's abduction, thank you. Thank you very much, and please, stay with us; help us make our cry heard because, unfortunately, no one listens to us."Mother, daughter found in Argentina after planning disappearance Mali and Liel Yahalomi captivated the country over the past week as the mystery surrounding their disappearance from the streets of Vienna unfolded. On Friday night, Israel Police announced that the two had been located on a bus in Argentina, safe and well. Police questioned them and released them after they said they had left of their own free will. Police clarified that they had no suspicion of criminal activity and had not opened an investigation.Details revealed after they were found indicated that the two had planned their disappearance in advance, but had not taken into account law enforcement authorities' ability to trace digital footprints and piece together information collected in different countries."Israel Police, in cooperation with all security agencies and relevant authorities in Israel and abroad, operated in recent days in an extensive and focused effort to locate the missing women," the police stated."At the direction of Police Commissioner Inspector-General Danny Levy, the police, led by Lahav 433 and the Intelligence Division, operated command centers in Israel and abroad around the clock. According to the police, all necessary means and resources were allocated to the searches, hundreds of investigative actions were carried out, and cooperation took place with Europol and other police organizations around the world."A police source told Maariv, "From the outset, we said that there apparently was no criminal incident or terrorist incident here, and that the mother and daughter had most likely left the room of their own free will. Representatives of the police Intelligence Division managed to track them down, and they were surprised when we reached them. After a brief questioning, and once we understood that there was no criminal or other motive, they were released. There is no suspicion that they committed an offense."Haymanot Kasau's family marks 900 days since disappearance Haymanot Kasau disappeared from an absorption center in Safed more than 900 days ago and has not been found since. Her family says police still have no leads in the case and has long demanded Shin Bet involvement.Just this week, on Wednesday, family members, members of the campaign to bring Haymanot home, and activists demonstrated near Shin Bet offices in Tel Aviv, calling on Shin Bet chief David Zini to make the agency's intelligence capabilities available to the investigation.During the protest, Haymanot's father, Tesfaye Kasau, read a personal letter he had written to Zini in Amharic, after which its contents were also read in Hebrew. "Tomorrow we will mark 900 days that our daughter has not been home, and my heart is struggling to bear the pain, the worry, and the helplessness," the father wrote.The family argues that the investigation should also be transferred to the Shin Bet in light of the agency's involvement in other areas, including the fight against organized crime and weapons trafficking in Arab society and the search for the child Yuval Kogan. They say the agency's resources and intelligence capabilities should also be made available in the effort to locate Haymanot.In his letter, the father also raised a painful allegation regarding the way the case has been handled. "I am doing everything in my power to stop myself from thinking that it has to do with color, but it is very difficult not to think about how things would have looked different if we looked different. If she were blonde, would her life matter more? If she were not a new immigrant, Ethiopian, would you already be helping us? Prove to us that this is not the case."Follow us on Google