The Aura development company has confirmed to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News that human remains have been removed from a construction site belonging to the company in the central Israel city of Yehud and clarified that it was done so in accordance with Jewish law and under the supervision of a trained rabbi.
The confirmation comes after the Antiquities Authority submitted a complaint to the police and suspended the work at the site, after private entities entered the site overnight, removing human remains and taking archeological finds in violation of the law.
According to the Antiquities Authority's information, the entities that worked at the site did so on behalf of Aura.
The Antiquities Authority stressed: "The Antiquities Authority sees this incident with great severity. Antiquities are the heritage of us all."
The project in question is a "demolition and reconstruction" complex in the city of Yehud, involving the demolition of ten old buildings and the construction of 444 housing units. For some time now, extremist haredi demonstrators have been protesting, claiming that the site contains Jewish graves.
Aura, the company behind the project, responded to the Israel Antiquities Authority by asserting that the stop-work order issued against it is unauthorized and illegal, claiming it constitutes a surrender to violence by extremist groups.
The company stressed that it has acted lawfully and in accordance with an agreement with the Antiquities Authority, and that the human remains found at the site do not legally qualify as "antiquities." Therefore, the company argues, the authority has no legal grounds to halt construction. Aura further claims it is suffering severe financial damages and that the authority has failed to uphold its commitments, adding that if the order is not rescinded, the company reserves the right to take legal action.
Aura confirmed that human remains were found at the site. "Since the remains were not removed, and in order to avoid further delays to the construction and to ensure the respectful handling of the remains in accordance with halacha, our company engaged a recognized Orthodox rabbi and a professional experienced in this field, including with the ZAKA organization. Indeed, on Friday and Saturday night, work began to remove the remains, with coordination as required with the Chevra Kadisha to ensure burial in a recognized cemetery according to halachic law. It should be noted that our company even purchased burial plots for this purpose. All actions were carried out according to the professional guidance of the rabbi and the expert present on site."
Meanwhile, on Thursday night, dozens of haredi rioters broke into the homes of senior executives at Aura in Tel Aviv, causing damage, hurling bags of excrement, and even assaulting family members of the company’s CEO, Yaakov Atrakchi. Similar vandalism was carried out at the home of the company’s deputy CEO.
Aura stated that this represents “a dangerous escalation,” noting that just last week, the graves of the CEO’s parents were desecrated. According to the company, police had been warned in advance of the planned attack but failed to prevent it.