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Do not fill this in! == Controversies == After [[Yehuda Meshi Zahav|Yehuda Meshi-Zahav]], ZAKA's co-founder and main figurehead for more than 30 years, was awarded the [[Israel Prize]] in March 2021,<ref name="Aran">{{Cite book |last=Aran |first=Gideon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x0DREAAAQBAJ&pg=PR20 |title=The Cult of Dismembered Limbs: Jewish Rites of Death at the Scene of Palestinian Suicide Terrorism |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-768914-1 |page=xx-xi |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=TOI Staff |date=2021-03-02 |title=Zaka emergency group cofounder awarded Israel Prize for contribution to society |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/zaka-emergency-group-cofounder-awarded-israel-prize-for-contribution-to-society/ |access-date=2024-01-17 |work=[[Times of Israel]]}}</ref> multiple accusations surfaced of his having committed sexual assaults against women, girls and boys over several decades, with the knowledge of others in the community.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rabinowitz |first1=Aaron |last2=Elk |first2=Shira |date=2021-03-11 |title=Israel Prize Winner, Zaka Founder Sexually Assaulted Boys, Girls and Women, Haaretz Investigation Reveals |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-03-11/ty-article/.highlight/israel-prize-winner-sexually-assaulted-children-women-haaretz-probe-reveals/0000017f-e87d-d62c-a1ff-fc7f8fe00000 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231016074308/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-03-11/ty-article/.highlight/israel-prize-winner-sexually-assaulted-children-women-haaretz-probe-reveals/0000017f-e87d-d62c-a1ff-fc7f8fe00000 |archive-date=2023-10-16 |access-date=2024-01-17 |work=Haaretz |language=en |quote=Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, the celebrated founder of the Zaka rescue organization, had a darker side, taking advantage of his position for decades with the knowledge of others in the community, his accusers say}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=TOI Staff |date=2021-03-12 |title=ZAKA emergency group co-founder accused of multiple cases of rape, sexual abuse |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/zaka-emergency-group-co-founder-accused-of-multiple-cases-of-rape-sexual-abuse/ |access-date=2024-01-17 |work=[[Times of Israel]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Knell |first=Yolande |date=2022-09-22 |title=Israel: Is this an ultra-Orthodox MeToo moment? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62984847 |access-date=2024-01-17 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB |quote=But that changed in 2021, just after it was announced that Zahav had won the esteemed Israel Prize - regarded as the country's highest cultural honour. A newspaper published accusations of how since the 1980s, Zahav had been using his status and power to assault women and children.}}</ref> [[Channel 13 (Israel)|Channel 13]] reported that ZAKA officials had known about the abuse allegations and worked to silence the claims.<ref>{{Cite news |last=TOI Staff |date=2021-03-16 |title=Police said to suspect ZAKA officials hushed reports of founder's alleged crimes |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-said-to-suspect-public-officials-knew-of-zaka-founders-alleged-crimes/ |work=[[Times of Israel]]}}</ref> Meshi-Zahav subsequently resigned ZAKA leadership and relinquished the Israel Prize.<ref name=":2" /> In response to the accusations, a senior ZAKA official said the organization had now "washed its hands" of Meshi-Zahav and that "given the accusations against him, it's very hard to remember the good that he's done. We always saw him with women and suspected that he was a deviant, but we never suspected he was a pedophile or a rapist. In retrospect, this [the allegations] explains a lot of things we saw over the years.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Greenwood |first1=Hanan |last2=Saban |first2=Itsik |last3=i24NEWS |date=2021-03-17 |editor3-last= |title=Report: Top ZAKA officials worked to silence sexual abuse claims against founder |url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/03/17/report-top-zaka-officials-worked-to-silence-sexual-abuse-claims-against-founder/ |access-date=2024-01-18 |website=www.israelhayom.com}}</ref> Following a suicide attempt in April 2021, Meshi-Zahav entered a coma and died in June 2022.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Rabinowitz |first=Aaron |date=2022-06-29 |title=Zaka Founder Meshi-Zahav, Implicated in Decades of Sexual Abuse, Dies |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-06-29/ty-article/.premium/zaka-founder-meshi-zahav-implicated-in-decades-of-sexual-abuse-has-died/00000181-addd-d46e-add3-bdfda1470000 |access-date=2024-01-17 |work=Haaretz |language=en}}</ref> Gideon Aran, a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem|Hebrew University]], said in his book about ZAKA that most ZAKA volunteers, while familiar with Meshi-Zahav and the colorful image of himself that he had cultivated, probably had no inkling of his misconduct; only a very few senior members were partially aware of his inclinations, without suspecting there was criminal and pathological behavior involved.<ref name="Aran" /> Following the scandal, Aran found that aside from a few changes in personnel, the organization's principles, sentiments and activities remained the same, and the damage to its public reputation was minimal.<ref name="Aran" /> In the aftermath of the [[2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel|2023 Hamas attack on Israel]], ZAKA volunteers were said by Israeli newspaper ''[[Haaretz]]'' to have given several incorrect reports of atrocities allegedly committed by Hamas against children and babies that were widely circulated in the media.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hasson |first1=Nir |last2=Rozovsky |first2=Liza |date=2023-12-04 |title=Hamas Committed Documented Atrocities. But a Few False Stories Feed the Deniers |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-12-04/ty-article-magazine/.premium/hamas-committed-documented-atrocities-but-a-few-false-stories-feed-the-deniers/0000018c-34f3-da74-afce-b5fbe24f0000 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231220010209/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-12-04/ty-article-magazine/.premium/hamas-committed-documented-atrocities-but-a-few-false-stories-feed-the-deniers/0000018c-34f3-da74-afce-b5fbe24f0000 |archive-date=2023-12-20 |access-date=2024-01-17 |work=Haaretz |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2023-12-15 |title=Israel social security data reveals true picture of Oct 7 deaths |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231215-israel-social-security-data-reveals-true-picture-of-oct-7-deaths |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=[[France 24]]/[[Agence France Presse]] |language=en}}</ref> A ZAKA leader acknowledged mistakes were made: "When we find bodies that are burned or in a state of decomposition, we can easily be mistaken and think the body is a child's ... Our volunteers were confronted with traumatic scenes and sometimes misinterpreted what they saw."<ref name=":1" /> A subsequent ''Haaretz'' report stated that in order to get media exposure, ZAKA spread accounts of atrocities that never happened and released sensitive and graphic photos in an effort to shock people into donating.<ref name="zaka-problems" /><ref name="toi-zaka-fabrications" /> ''Haaretz'' also said that while hundreds of ZAKA volunteers did important work under challenging conditions, the organization acted unprofessionally on the ground, often mixing up the remains of multiple victims in the same bag and creating little or no documentation.<ref name="zaka-problems">{{cite news |last1=Rabinowitz |first1=Aaron |date=31 January 2024 |title=Death and Donations: Did the Israeli Volunteer Group Handling the Dead of October 7 Exploit Its Role? |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-31/ty-article-magazine/.premium/death-and-donations-did-the-volunteer-group-handling-the-october-7-dead-exploit-its-role/0000018d-5a73-d997-adff-df7bdb670000 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240209154317/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-31/ty-article-magazine/.premium/death-and-donations-did-the-volunteer-group-handling-the-october-7-dead-exploit-its-role/0000018d-5a73-d997-adff-df7bdb670000 |archive-date=2024-02-09 |access-date=6 February 2024 |work=Haaretz |language=en |quote=In the meantime, Zaka volunteers were there. Most of them worked at the sites of murder and destruction from morning to night. However, according to witness accounts, it becomes clear that others were engaged in other activities entirely. As part of the effort to get media exposure, Zaka spread accounts of atrocities that never happened, released sensitive and graphic photos, and acted unprofessionally on the ground.}}</ref><ref name="toi-zaka-fabrications">{{cite news |title=ZAKA exploited Hamas’s October 7 attack to campaign for donations – report Volunteers who worked alongside ZAKA accuse members of creating |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/zaka-exploited-hamass-october-7-attack-to-campaign-for-donations-report/#:~:text=The%20unit%27s%20soldiers%2C%20as%20well,a%20bid%20for%20screen%20time. |access-date=10 February 2024 |work=Times of Israel |date=6 February 2024 |quote=The unit’s soldiers, as well as volunteers from other organizations, accused ZAKA volunteers of spreading stories of horrors that didn’t happen, releasing sensitive and graphic photos to shock people into donating, and being unprofessional in a bid for screen time.}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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