Ina Danilow is the first woman murdered in Israel this year, with her case highlighting systemic failures to address domestic violence warnings.
First Woman Murdered in 2025
Ina Danilow is the first woman murdered in Israel this year. On January 5, media reported that the 49-year-old was stabbed to death in her own apartment in the town of Pardes Channa in the north of the country. Her husband was arrested on suspicion of murder.
From preliminary findings, it appears the tragedy was preceded by a family argument. Her 20-something daughter, who was in the apartment with her 10-year-old brother, alerted emergency services.
Call for Recognition as Femicide
“Initially, the police treated this as a ‘criminal case,’ but these types of murders should be qualified by the government and police as femicide, that is, the murder of a woman by a man because she is a woman,” commented Prof. Shalva Weil, head of the Israeli Observatory on Femicide (IOF) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Pattern of Systemic Failures
In the story of Ina Danilow, a pattern of systemic callousness is repeating. From police and judicial documents, it appears that signals of domestic violence had already reached authorities earlier – Ina had filed complaints against her aggressive husband twice, in 2017 and 2018. Each time, the prosecutor’s office discontinued the proceedings.
Failed Interventions
In February 2025, the police received further information about violence in the Danilow home, but family members refused to file a formal complaint. The case ended with the husband being interrogated and temporarily removed from the apartment.
The 49-year-old woman left behind five children.
