The disaster in Nepal continues to claim lives, with the death toll now exceeding 1,000 people, while some 4,400 others remain missing following massive floods that struck the country. Chabad House in Nepal reported today (Wednesday) that among the thousands missing are about 30 Jews, with at least two of them Israeli citizens, including a man around 60 years old.
1+The catastrophic event, which began with flash floods along the Nepal-China border after what appeared to be a glacier collapse, destroyed entire villages, bridges, and communication infrastructure. The widespread devastation cut off entire regions from the world—and now severely hampers rescue efforts and contact with travelers and residents in the disaster zones.
For the country’s Chabad emissaries, Chezky and Chani Lifshitz, the festive preparations for Rosh Hashanah turned in an instant into a complex rescue and search operation. Instead of organizing holiday meals and prayers for the hundreds of Israeli backpackers who flock to the country this time of year, the couple is running an emergency command center in the heart of Kathmandu, coordinating aerial rescue teams and fielding nonstop calls from worried family members worldwide.
1+Chani Lifshitz said they’re checking every report and every lead in an attempt to locate the missing Jews, while access to the disaster zones has become nearly impossible by land due to collapsed roads and suspension bridges. Alongside the effort to find survivors, Chabad House is grappling with the painful and complex issue of bringing the dead to Jewish burial. Due to the massive death toll and fears of disease outbreaks, Nepali authorities are burying dozens of victims daily in mass graves, creating a race against time to identify Jewish bodies before they’re buried. Lifshitz noted that the condition of bodies pulled from the mud makes identification extremely difficult, but they’re determined to do everything possible to ensure every Jew receives a proper burial and doesn’t become just another number in the disaster’s statistics. Prayers continue for the safety of the missing, and aerial searches go on, hoping to find signs of life amid the heavy destruction.