New Zealand – A post mortem of an Israeli tramper has gone ahead despite objections by a local rabbi.
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Ohad Dotan, 26, apparently fell to his death near the Mueller Glacier in the Southern Alps, as was reported here on VIN News.
His body was brought down from Aoraki/Mount Cook by an aerial rescue team and was due to undergo a post mortem this morning.
Rabbi Menachem Goldstein, director of the Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch sect in New Zealand, fought to halt the autopsy and called for Mr Dotan’s body to be released from the Christchurch Coroner’s office.
Rabbi Goldstein said Jewish law viewed autopsies, in most cases, as an unnecessary desecration of the body.
“I’ve strongly advised the authorities against a post-mortem examination,” he said. “I told them it should be avoided if at all possible, especially since foul play is not suspected.”
In New Zealand, a victim’s family must lodge a formal complaint, but the final determination was up to Christchurch coroner Richard McElrea.
However, the Christchurch Coroner’s office said today the autopsy had gone ahead.
Rabbi Goldstein said the Israeli community had been saddened by the news of Mr Dotan’s death.
He had been at the Chabad House last week and was expected to attend this week’s Friday night Shabbat services – a popular event for travelling Israelis.
Assistant manager at the Chabad House, Nissan Zigman said Mr Dotan had wanted to be there before Shabbat.
“He was a very affable and nice guy. It was a pleasure to talk to him.”
Department of Conservation (DOC) area manager Richard McNamara said the man appeared to have made a conscious decision to leave the track.
“For whatever reason this tramper has decided to go off the track and got himself into an area of danger and technical difficulty and fell,” he said.
“It’s one of those unfortunate, tragic accidents – it happens from time to time.”
Senior Constable Russell Halkett of Fairlie police said Mr Dotan had been in New Zealand for several weeks and was travelling alone.
BDE
Very sad
anti-semetic filth in Australia!
The family didn’t lodge a formal complaint. That would have stopped the autopsy. They did not, so the autopsy happened.
Dinah dmalchisa!!!”)
it doesn’t seem like antisemtisim, autopsy is standard procedure to do this they like to have a answer why the person died & its hard to get them not to do this.
Tragic no matter how we look at it. 1. Because he died 2. Because of the autopsy. However with that said if it is the law of New Zealand to do the autopsy and the family didn’t do anything to prevent it I fail to see how this was actually a case of anti-semitism. The Shliach did what he could. He should be applauded.
Nebach, it’s an agmas nefesh for the neshomo. May we only know simchos