Arab Social Media Star Who Visited Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s Grave Dies in Tragic Crash

Kazem Khalilia, a 32-year-old social media personality and nightlife figure, was killed late Sunday night in a devastating car accident on Highway 6 near the Baka al-Gharbiya interchange. His vehicle collided with a passing truck, leaving him trapped inside until rescue teams arrived. Despite resuscitation efforts by United Hatzalah and MDA paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Khalilia was well-known in Israel’s nightlife scene and among Arabic-language social media users. Just last year, he made headlines when he was filmed visiting, for the first time, the gravesite of the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Israel’s former Sephardi Chief Rabbi, together with celebrity rabbi Mordechai Hassidim. In that visit, Khalilia said emotionally: “My first time at the grave of a righteous man — it was truly moving.”

The sudden tragedy has shocked those who knew him, with tributes and messages of grief flooding social media overnight.

The accident occurred around 10:00 p.m., when Khalilia’s car struck the truck with significant force. Firefighters were called to the scene to extricate him from the crushed vehicle.

United Hatzalah medics Etgar Paz and Ashraf Watad, among the first responders, described the scene: “This was a very severe accident involving a car and a truck. Unfortunately, despite efforts to save him, we were forced to declare the driver deceased. Fire crews worked at the scene to remove him from the wreck.”