Nearly a week has passed since Mali Yahalomi and her daughter Liel were last seen in Vienna, and despite an expanding investigation, there is still no clear explanation for what happened to them.
A gag order has been imposed on parts of the investigation, Bank of Jerusalem shares briefly plunged amid rumors surrounding Mali’s work there, and Israeli police have conducted repeated assessments without finding a decisive lead.
What is known so far is a collection of partial clues, unexplained movements and several possibilities that investigators are still trying to test.
Where were Mali and Liel last traced?
The last known location signal from the women’s phones was recorded on Shabbat near a Vienna railway station, in an open area that also includes a public park.
Investigators are paying particular attention to the location because the station is a major transport hub with connections across Europe, raising the possibility that the two may have left Vienna and continued elsewhere.
There is currently no confirmed information establishing where they went afterward.
When did the family realize something was wrong?
Mali’s brother, Ronen Yahalomi, told ynet that their sister Elinor had remained in contact with Mali during the trip.
After Mali sent a video from the Vienna apartment on Friday, Elinor tried to reach her on Sunday but received no response.
Ronen Yahalomi
(Photo: Zeev Avrahami)
“The next day she called me and said, ‘Listen, something isn’t right,’” Ronen said.
Mali and Liel were supposed to board a flight home from Prague on Tuesday night. Ronen said the family had decided that if they failed to arrive at the airport by an hour before departure, they would escalate their response.
Why is their movement on Shabbat so puzzling?
Both women observe Shabbat, yet several details of their movements that day remain unexplained.
The apartment they rented was in Vienna’s fifth district, more than two kilometers from the old city, where many of the main tourist attractions are located, as well as two Chabad centers where Shabbat meals can be arranged.
It is not clear why they chose accommodation so far away, why they rented it for only one night or why they left during Shabbat.
The train station in Vienna where Mali and Liel’s phones were last located
(Photo: Zeev Avrahami)
Ronen said Mali kept her phone switched on because the family has an elderly mother who recently underwent a complicated medical procedure.
He also said the two women left the apartment on Saturday with all of their belongings.
“They left the apartment on Shabbat. They left nothing there. They took everything with them. They were there for only one night,” he said.
Who is investigating?
The case is being handled by Lahav 433’s national financial crime unit, known as YALAC.
Police stress that the unit’s involvement does not point to any specific theory about the disappearance.
A police source told ynet that YALAC maintains extensive working relationships with law enforcement agencies around the world and has the capabilities and experience needed for a cross-border investigation of this kind.
Police say all possible directions are being examined.
Were they abducted?
An Austrian report claimed that Mossad was involved in the search, but that report is incorrect.
As of the latest Israeli police assessment, investigators had found indications suggesting the women were not abducted and may have left Vienna voluntarily.
The home where missing Mali Yahalomi and her daughter stayed
(Photo: Zeev Avarahmi)
Among the issues being examined is whether location data on their phones was deliberately deleted.
Investigators are also checking information suggesting the pair may have been carrying a significant amount of cash.
Neither point has yet produced a definitive explanation for their disappearance.
Is terrorism or a nationalist attack suspected?
Austria’s Kronen Zeitung reported that Vienna police had found “no indication of criminal activity.”
At the same time, investigators have not fully ruled out the possibility of a nationalist crime or terrorist act.
Police also say they are unaware of any family dispute or other known personal reason that would explain why Mali and Liel might have chosen to disappear.
Why did Bank of Jerusalem become part of the story?
Rumors linking her disappearance to the bank caused its share price to fall by more than 12% at one point before the losses narrowed. The stock ultimately ended the day down about 2%.
The bank has repeatedly rejected suggestions of financial wrongdoing connected to the case.
It said it had found “no connection between the incident and the bank” and that there was “no finding indicating any unusual activity involving the bank’s funds, assets or customer funds.”
The Bank of Jerusalem
(Photo: Shalev Shalom)
The bank also said there was “no concern regarding embezzlement of customer funds.”
Was the trip planned in advance?
According to Ronen, the trip was organized by Liel as a surprise for her mother.
That is significant because some speculation has focused on whether the disappearance required extensive advance planning.
Ronen said Mali had little opportunity to prepare.
“This whole trip came as a surprise to her. She had no time to prepare for it,” he said.
He said Liel, who lives with her mother, arranged everything, including flights and accommodation in Prague and Vienna.
What about Mali’s former husband?
Mali and Liel’s father have been divorced for more than 20 years, Ronen said.
“They don’t have a close relationship, but he is very worried,” he said. “He is an avrech. It was a clean divorce, nothing unusual.”
The family has not identified any dispute involving him that could explain the disappearance.
What does the family believe happened?
The family says it does not have a theory and is asking investigators not to rule anything out.
Ronen said Mali was financially independent and rejected attempts to build conclusions around rumors.
Asked what he believes happened, he said he has no clear answer.
“I have no thought, no direction,” he said. “My sister is a lioness. She raised two children by herself. I can run 200 scenarios through my head, and I have. Something happened here that was beyond their control.”
For now, that remains the central problem facing investigators: the available clues suggest several possible directions, but none yet explains how a mother and daughter disappeared from a major European city without leaving a clear trail.