In a special meeting that took place in his office, the Minister of Religious Services MK Rabbi Yitzchak Vaknin bequeathed a letter of appreciation to Zaka’s Tel Aviv branch for their service in reburying the bodies of Jews from Brisk. The bodies were dug up by accident during construction work that took place in the city of Brest (formerly Brisk) which is located in Belarus.
The mass graves were uncovered and found to have the remnants of thousands of bodies of Jewish residents of the city who were murdered by the Nazis YM”S during the Holocaust.
Soldiers from the Belarus army mapped out the bones and collected them. In collaboration with the city of Brest, Zaka members from the Tel Aviv branch were then dispatched to the area and oversaw the reburial of the bones in an alternate location that was set aside by the city, in coffins that were provided by the city as well.
The Zaka team headed out with specialized gear to undertake the mission in the stormy weather of Belarus.
The Minister thanked the Zaka volunteers for their work in general and for undertaking this mission in a humble and selfless manner.
The letter of appreciation from the Minister said, among other things: “You have sanctified the name of God and Israel in front of the nations of the world through your work.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
One Response
Questions about the video: 1) why are some of the bodies buried with a Talis on top and some with a maguen David?2) why is Zaka saying tachanun on one grave ( if that’s what they are doing at end of video) ?