The Mossad was alerted because of 200 thousand shekels: the infuriating truth behind the disappearance of Meli and Liel | Alon Hachmon

The affair of Meli and Liel, a mother and her daughter who left Israel under the pretext of a trip, landed in Vienna, and then disappeared, has stirred the country this week. It occupied not only every citizen but also the Israel Police with its dozens of special officers, resources estimated at hundreds of thousands of shekels, the Vienna Police, Interpol, and perhaps even representatives from the Mossad — all to establish the initial assessment that the two did not disappear, but left of their own volition.

This story started with a loud bang and ends with jarring chords. It is not yet clear if they shared their plans with any family members. They left behind relatives in Israel due to debts amounting to around 200 thousand shekels. This is not a sum that would cause a normal person to alert an entire state, draw so much attention, behave like criminals by deleting phone history, throwing away phones mid-escape, equipping themselves with new mobiles, and traveling to Argentina to evade those debts.

The Israel Police, despite intelligence information that the two were not kidnapped and that it was not a terrorist activity, handled this affair with full seriousness. They rushed to issue a sweeping gag order and did not surrender to the rumor mill that spread like wildfire about sums of money that Meli allegedly stole from Bank Jerusalem, where she worked for many years. "The giant embezzlement" or "the Eti Alon 2 affair" — all of it dissipated and was trampled within a stupid farce that raises anger in every normative person.

The two caused expenses of hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of shekels from the state treasury, gave the public a platform to slander Meli's name, and placed the family members at the center of a drama amid heavy fears for their lives. Was anyone from the family a partner in the plot? Why did they rush to start a crowdfunding campaign when the police were busy with the story and insisted on not revealing details? These are just some of the accompanying questions.

The police came out on top in this story and deserve all the compliments, but on the other hand, obvious questions are being asked in the public: what happened that to this day they do not find the girl Haimnut Kasau, who has been missing since February 2024? Almost two years and there is not even a clue to her whereabouts. What became of the fate of Moishy Kleinerman, who was last seen in 2022? The difference between the events is clear as day.

Kasau and Kleinerman were truly kidnapped, whereas Meli and Liel simply put everyone in a state of stress, creating a horror movie within which the police managed, together with the Vienna Police and other forces, to operate in a foreign environment and yield results.

Can the amount of expenses be imposed on the family of the missing persons in this case? Not sure. Will the police check such an option? Probably not. The ending here is good, the feelings are terrible.