ZAKA founder and former chairman Yehuda Meshi-Zahav left a letter explaining his decision to end his life, Maariv reported.

The attempted suicide occurred Thursday morning at Meshi-Zahav’s residence in Givat Ze’ev.

First responders arriving at the scene succeeded in resuscitating the elderly man, transferring him to Shaare Zedek Medical Center. He is currently in stable but critical condition.

When police officers arrived at the scene, they found a letter which Meshi-Zahav had written, explaining why he had chosen to end his life.

The letter was confiscated by police and transferred to investigators.

One of Meshi-Zahav’s neighbors told Walla! that he “was devastated, he thought that they would ruin him in the inquiry this evening.”

Professor Ofer Merin, Director-General of Shaare Zedek Medical Center, said that Meshi-Zahav “had arrived in Shaare Zedek’s trauma room after he was found in critical condition in his home, following an act of suicide.”

He added that Meshi-Zahav had been brought to Shaare Zedek during Magen David Adom’s (MDA) ongoing attempts at resuscitating him.

“His condition stabilized in the trauma room. Right now he is unconscious and on a respirator, with signs of life.”

Prof. Merin also said that hospital staff “estimate that damage was caused,” but “we cannot estimate how much.”

“I do not think that we will be able to give an exact estimate of his condition within the next few hours.

“Right now he is in the ICU, and we need to treat the immediate damage caused at the time, until they began resuscitating him, and until the resuscitation succeeded, and that’s what the staff is busy with right now.”

Source: Arutz Sheva

The attempted suicide occurred in Meshi-Zahav’s home in Givat Ze’ev, less than one day before Channel 12 published an inquiry on him on its “Uvda” program.

In March, Meshi-Zahav, was selected for the Israel Prize in the field of Lifetime Achievement and Special Contribution to Society and the State award.

Later that month, he was accused of sexual misconduct, and stepped down from his position as ZAKA’s leader.

Police opened an investigation against Meshi-Zahav, after allegations came to light in a report published by Haaretz.

In that report, six accusers -both male and female – claimed Meshi-Zahav sexually exploited or assaulted them as far back as the 1980s.

Some of the accusers were minors at the time of the alleged assaults, others were adults.

The accusations against Meshi-Zahav were known among the Eida Haharedit, which he belonged to in his youth, but were not made known to the public when he began public activities outside the Eida Haharedit.

Meshi-Zahav’s attorney, Ephraim Damari, told Kan News that “Yehuda is convinced of one thing – that the media and public are putting him on trial for things he has no connection to. This is a very dangerous precedent.”

“Trials are decided in court. Everything that is happening at the moment is getting in the way of a fair procedure. The media are the ones collecting evidence instead of the police and we don’t know how reliable these sources are. The authorities should be allowed to do their job. My client, Yehuda Meshi Zahav, will fully cooperate with the police as soon as he’s brought to trial. Once investigators present their evidence, he will provide his version of events.”

Source: Arutz Sheva