JERUSALEM — When divers pulled the red leather bag from the murky waters of the Yarkon River, it provided closure and a sad sense of relief for many Israelis.
At least now they know. At least now, 4-year-old Rose Pizem could be laid to rest with more care and protection than she received in her short life.
The disappearance and apparent murder of the girl, whose body was found Thursday and identified Friday, have transfixed Israelis for more than a month. Along with other recent cases of violence against children, it has ignited a debate about gaps in the social service network and reluctance of some people to report abuse or instability in a family.
In Rose’s case, the obvious question is this: How could a child disappear for months with no one noticing? The girl hadn’t been seen since May. But authorities say they were unaware until late July, when Rose’s great-grandmother informed social services. The story that emerged since then is lurid: Rose’s mother left her French husband for his father, the girl’s grandfather — Roni Ron.
Authorities say Ron initially confessed that he killed the girl in a fit of anger, stuffed her body in a red bag and threw it in the Yarkon River in central Israel. Ron has since said the confession was coerced, but his description of where to find the body was accurate.
Ron and the girl’s mother, Marie Renault, are in custody.
Other recent cases included two mothers separately accused in the past month of drowning their own young children.
In Knesset-sponsored hearings, child welfare specialists proposed a nationwide child-abuse awareness and prevention program, including a 24-hour hotline, guidance and support services for stressed-out parents.
It is too late to tell whether such a program would have made a difference for Rose Pizem.
After leaving France, news reports said Renault settled in Israel and had two more children with her former father-in-law, and won a custody battle to bring Rose here from France. But the girl had behavioral and emotional problems, according to Haaretz newspaper; her mother was overwhelmed.
Critics point to multiple opportunities for either the state or the community to have intervened.
“Municipal welfare department workers were aware of the family’s plight but appear to have done very little to intervene or assist the little girl,” wrote columnist Margot Dudkevitch of the Israeli news site Infolive.
