Co-founder and chairman of the ZAKA volunteer emergency response organization, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, who resigned from the organization after allegations of sexual assault had surfaced against him, left a suicide note shortly before he attempted to take his own life.
In the letter, which he wrote several hours before his action, he asked for compassion in light of his humanitarian work in the past. "I am sorry. I have already received my punishment, and please make an effort to remember me for the good things I have done," he wrote. "I have always loved and I feel very much ashamed," he continued in the letter, which was found in his home in Givat Ze'ev.
"Remember what I have forgotten. An eye that sees, an ear that hears, and all your deeds are written in a book," he said, quoting Jewish scripture.
Magen David Adom paramedics were called to the family home in the Jerusalem suburb of Givat Ze'ev in the early hours of Thursday morning and carried out resuscitation efforts on Meshi-Zahav, who was rushed to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. He is said to be in critical condition.
On noon Thursday, the hospital said Meshi-Zahav's condition was critical but stable and that he was sedated and intubated. It is believed the suicide attempt has left him with a hypoxic brain injury.
