A precedent-setting ruling recently issued by Senior Judge Rivka Makais at the Rishon Lezion Family Court allows the parents of Maj. Ofek Bachar z"l, who fell in battle in southern Lebanon on October 16, 2024, to use his sperm to bring a child into the world. This is a complex and sensitive decision, as the deceased did not leave a written will and did not have a partner at the time of his death, circumstances that set a particularly high evidentiary threshold for the courts regarding proving the intent of the deceased.
According to a report on the Walla website, the legal background for the hearing revolved around the question of the deceased's wishes. The legal struggle, led by Adv. Nili Schatz, focused on proving Bachar's intentions regarding his continuity. The court examined critical testimonies presented to it, primarily the testimony of the deceased's father, Udi Bachar. The father recounted a personal conversation that took place between them during a trip to Athens in July 2024, in the midst of the Swords of Iron War, in which his son expressed his fear that he might not return from the fighting and asked his father to take care of his continuity.
Beyond the father's testimony, the court heard from two of Ofek's close friends from his military service in the Egoz unit. The friends testified that the deceased frequently expressed to them his desire that his parents ensure the birth of children even if he were to be killed. Judge Makais noted in her ruling that the testimonies heard were found to be credible and consistent, and that she was convinced that having children after his death was indeed the deceased's explicit and conscious wish.
At the same time, it is important to clarify that the authorization granted to the parents is a principle-based approval only. According to the court's ruling, after a surrogate mother is chosen for the process, the parents will have to return and appear before the court to receive its final approval for the procedure. This ruling joins other sensitive legal cases in which the court has been required to decide on the question of the desire for continuity after a person's death, within the complex reality of IDF casualties.
The precedent set here highlights the power of oral testimony and the importance the court attributes to the totality of the evidence when deciding on personal and moral issues for which there is no pre-written instruction. The case illustrates the legal and human dilemmas faced by bereaved families seeking to fulfill the desires of their sons who fell during their military service, under the complexity of the legal process required in these matters.