Russian Jewish Woman Among Those Who Perished in Sinai Plane Crash

As was reported by YWN, 224 persons on board a Russian passenger plane that crashed in Sinai on Shabbos perished.

The cause of the crash was not known, but two major European airlines announced they would stop flying over the area for safety reasons after a local affiliate of the extremist Islamic State group claimed it “brought down” the aircraft. In Israel, there is talk about a possible terror attack that brought down the plane but at present, this is speculation.

The Times of Israel reports among the dead is a former program director of Hillel in Russia, Anna Tishinskaya, 27. She was heading to St. Petersburg. Hillel is a student organization that operates on many college campuses.

Anna Tishinskaya, 27, was enroute from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg aboard a charter flight operated by the Russian Kogalymavia airline when it crashed in the Sinai peninsula on Saturday. All 224 passengers, most of them Russian tourists, died, Egyptian officials said.

She was active in Hillel activities on campus in St. Petersburg University in the past as well as working with the Israel Culture Center in the city.

Magen David Adom officials in Israel report they worked with Red Crescent officials in Egypt in conjunction with the Israel Foreign Minister and the International Red Cross. MDA offered to have 30 ambulances stand by to assist.

PM Netanyahu sends condolences to Russian President Putin and the Russian people following the fatal crash. He made his remarks at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday morning 19 Cheshvan.