Yeros Kasau, 19, received the National Service Excellence Award for her service with Ha'aguda L'hitndavut (The Volunteer Association) in a ceremony held in the presence of President Isaac Herzog at the President's Residence on Monday, nearly two-and-a-half years after her sister Haymanut Kasau went missing in Safed.
Yeros contributed to the organization and to Israeli society through volunteer work, "despite her family's unimaginable situation, enduring a nerve-wracking wait for any information regarding the whereabouts of her little sister," the Volunteer Association said in a press release that marked her as one of the 29 outstanding presidential volunteers of 2026.
The family members met privately with the President, who expressed his support and appreciation for Yeros and her family during the ongoing case.
A Knesset-backed awareness campaign, cash reward of over 850,000 shekels
The Aliyah, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs Committee, headed by MK Gilad Kariv, convened on Monday to discuss raising awareness about the Haymanut's disappearance, the Knesset announced in a press statement.
Following the committee's request, an advertising campaign was launched, with billboards being placed across the country to raise awareness of Haymanut.
"We will not stop the operations until we find Haymanut," said Kariv. "We will hold a follow-up discussion here in July."
Danny Adeno Abba, spokesperson for the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, said, "The billboard campaign will begin today and will focus mainly on the north of the country in the Safed area... We will also see billboards in other major cities across the country," adding that "A digital campaign will be implemented" later this month.
The Jewish Agency offered a cash reward of 150,000 shekels, while the family has pledged an additional reward of 850,000 shekels for anyone who provides information leading to Haymanut's location, who was last seen in a Safed absorption center office almost 850 days ago.
"It's been two and a half years since my daughter disappeared, but I am very grateful to all the partners who are leading the publicity campaign. There needs to be a combination of all the relevant government bodies and security agencies, including the Shin Bet, in order to succeed and find my daughter. We want to return to the normality of our lives. We've run out of words; we just want to see our girl back home," said Hatmanot's father, Tesfai Kasau.
Israeli Police investigating links to Ethiopia, unsatisfactory progress
Israeli Police are considering possible links in the investigation to Ethiopia, according to a report by Reshet 13.
MK Kariv asked the legal advisor of the International Investigations Unit under Lahav 433, Chief Inspector Sarit Elisha Al-Ami, to reclassify the case from "missing person" status to "abduction," to which Al-Ami responded that "the classification of the case has no impact on the operations being carried out," a consideration which the father, Tesfaye, rejected.
Tesfaye threatened to sue the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, claiming "you are doing nothing," Reshet 13 reported.
In response to the police announcing a "development in the investigation," Haymanut's family released a statement denying any real progress and stating that they had heard of no such progress from the police; instead, they learned of the allegedly fabricated progress only through the media.
"This is a cynical and outrageous exploitation of the family's pain. It is astonishing to discover time and again that the police operate with creativity and efficiency when dealing with the media, but when faced with a lead in the disappearance of a 9-year-old girl, they hit a total dead end. If there is a real development, why is the family hearing about it from the media?"
"This conduct proves definitively that Israeli police have thrown up their hands and are managing a media damage-control battle instead of a real investigation. We demand an immediate end to these PR stunts," the family said.
"The only way to achieve a breakthrough is the immediate establishment of a joint Special Investigative Team (SIT) that includes Shin Bet elements. Only a combination of the technological and intelligence capabilities of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) can solve this mystery and bring Haymanut home," the statement concluded.