Family members of Yemanu Zelka gather outside a court in Lod on May 10, 2026, where 16 teens have been charged in connection with his murder on Independence Day. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Teen indicted for negligent murder in Yemanu Zelka’s killing; 15 minors charged for assault

Family of pizzeria worker killed on Independence Day decries decision to not file murder charges against all involved, says prosecution ‘enabling the next murder’

by · The Times of Israel

The teenager suspected of the fatal stabbing of 21-year-old Yemanu Zelka on Independence Day was charged with negligent murder in Lod District Court on Sunday, alongside 15 other minors suspected of involvement in the killing.

The 15-year-old accused of stabbing Zelka outside the Pizza Hut where he worked in Petah Tikva was charged with negligent murder, while the 15 other defendants were charged with causing serious bodily harm with intent.

Some of the teens were charged with additional offenses of making threats, obstruction of justice, destroying evidence and conspiracy to assault.

None of the defendants can be named as they are all minors. Prosecutors asked that all of the defendants be held in custody until the end of legal proceedings against them.

Negligent murder offenses — meaning the defendant was aware of the potentially lethal outcome of their actions, but acted nonetheless — and causing serious bodily harm have a maximum sentence of up to twenty years, though the actual sentence is at the discretion of the court.

Zelka was stabbed to death after he had asked the teens not to use party spray in the pizzeria. In a brutal assault that was caught on video, the gang surrounded and beat him, continuing the attack even after he had been stabbed and fallen to the ground.

Yemanu Binyamin Zelka, who was stabbed and killed at his Pizza Hut job in the early hours of Independence Day. (Social media, undated; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Ahead of the indictment, police had recommended the harsher charge of aggravated murder against the key suspect, which would carry a mandatory life sentence.

However, prosecutors said Sunday that “for the offense of negligent murder, the court has the authority to impose a life sentence on the stabber, while the other minors can receive heavy and significant prison sentences, and we will do our best to bring them to justice.”

Zelka’s family denounced what they said were too-light charges against the defendants, accusing the prosecution of “siding with the offenders.” The family had demanded that murder charges be leveled against every suspect involved.

In a statement, the family said that instead of filing charges that would “prevent the next murder,” prosecutors had chosen to go easy and let the “murderers” off lightly.

They further asserted that the main suspect had destroyed evidence — a claim that the family has made since the beginning of the investigation — and that, as a result, prosecutors did not press for more severe charges.

A screengrab of an image aired on Channel 12 on April 25, 2026, purporting to show a suspect holding a knife, which was allegedly used in the killing of Yemanu Binyamin Zelka in Petah Tikvah. (Channel 12)

“The prosecution’s claim that there is not enough evidence is a disgrace,” the family said. “There is so much evidence that proves planning, action, and premeditated murder.”

“How is it that while everyone can see the reality clearly, the prosecution chooses to be blind and enable the next murder?”

Education Minister Yoaf Kisch, who has been accused by critics of helping to allow teen violence to spiral, gave his backing to the family, calling on prosecutors to “significantly increase the punishment for the murderer.”

Omer Adiri, representing the main suspect, said the charges against his client “show that it was a spontaneous incident and not planned at all.”

He said the defense would study the charges and give its response to the court.

Family members of Yemanu Binyamin Zelka, who was stabbed by a gang of teenagers on the eve of Israel’s Independence Day, gather outside a court in Lod, calling for justice as charges were filed against defendants in the case May 10, 2026. Sign reads ‘A life sentence will save our children.’ (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Protesters outside the court demonstrated against the indictments, insisting the charges had been watered down.

“A life sentence is what all of these criminals deserve,” one protest organizer said, before leading the crowd in a chant: “Justice for Yemanu!”

A protester held up a sign that read: “Lack of punishment will cost the blood of our children.”

Zelka, a 21-year-old Pizza Hut employee in Petah Tikva, was stabbed to death by a group of adolescents on the eve of Independence Day, after he told them not to spray party foam in the restaurant.

After waiting outside for Zelka to finish his late-night shift, the youths ambushed and beat him, with one assailant taking out a knife and stabbing him. He was left to bleed out on the ground, and died of his wounds in the hospital a day later.

According to the indictment, the central suspect hit a critical vein when stabbing the young man, causing significant blood loss that led him to die from his wounds a day later.

Police arrested a total of 19 people in connection with Zelka’s killing. Three were not indicted.