Search continues for Israeli mother and daughter missing in Austria since Friday
Mali Yahalomi, 50, and her daughter Liel, 23, missed their flight home from Vienna on Tuesday evening
Concerns are growing for an Israeli mother and her daughter who have been missing in Vienna since Friday 7 August, according to Israel’s Embassy in Austria.
Speaking to press, family members say Mali (50) and Liel Yahalomi (23) had planned their short European break in advance, beginning in Prague, buying train tickets to Vienna and checking into an apartment hotel in the Austrian capital.
They were in frequent contact with their family, sending photographs and WhatsApp messages on Friday. They reported nothing suspicious or unusual before contact was lost.
By Sunday evening, after repeated attempts to reach them went unanswered and a WhatsApp message remained on a single check mark, (meaning it has not been read), the family opened an official case with the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s emergency centre
The two women then failed to arrive at Vienna Airport on Tuesday for their scheduled evening El Al flight home to Israel. N12 media reports that Ronen Yahalomi, the son and brother of the 2 missing women, now flying to Vienna to search for them himself, said: “This is our last resort: to be there physically and meet face-to-face with whoever we need to.”
Speaking to Israel’s Kan News, Amir Rodnik, Mali’s brother-in-law, described the last communication the family had with the missing women: “On Friday, before Shabbat came in, we were messaging with them in the family group chat. They wrote, ‘We’ve arrived at the apartment, look what a cool apartment, Shabbat Shalom to everyone.’ Since then, silence.”
Speaking to Arutz Sheva – Israel National News, Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in Vienna Rabbi Reuven Timsit said: “We first heard about it a few days ago, and there is still absolutely no lead. The information is very, very vague.”
The pair landed in the Czech Republic and travelled from there to Vienna, “but in Europe all the borders are open. You can travel by car and no one will check you. In 50 minutes you’re in Slovakia, and within three hours you’re in Budapest. That’s why it’s so difficult to know where to even begin looking.”
He added: “We don’t know whether this is a criminal incident, nationalist [attack], a family matter, or something else. There isn’t a single lead. That’s what makes it all so strange.Vienna is usually very calm. We are not aware of any unusual warnings or specific threats against Israeli or Jewish travellers. Precisely because of that, this entire case raises more and more questions.”
He added: “We’ve activated WhatsApp groups for travellers and are asking everyone to look for them. But what’s especially moving is the response from the local Jewish community. People are treating this as though it were their own mother or daughter. You can see it in all of the community’s WhatsApp groups. One business owner wrote to us that he thinks he saw them come to him, and he immediately informed Israel’s Foreign Ministry. People feel this is their personal issue, and it’s very moving to witness.”
There are currently no leads as to the women’s whereabouts.
Anyone who has any information is urged to contact the Israeli Embassy in Vienna immediately at +43 676 367 2304, or notify the local Austrian police.