Naama Issachar and her mother Yaffa are currently flying to Israel together with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara.
Naama and her mother met with Netanyahu and his wife Sara around noon on Thursday at the airport in Moscow after Netanyahu’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Netanyahu began his meeting with Putin at the Kremlin by thanking him for pardoning Issachar. “I want to thank you in the name of all the Jewish people for your quick decision to pardon Naama Issachar. This moved all of us and our thankfulness is from all Israeli citizens with all our hearts.”
Putin said that his meeting with Yaffa Issachar in Israel last week played a large part in his decision to pardon Naama. “I decided to pardon her and it’s largely due to the meeting with her mother. But keep in mind that they found drugs in her bag. I wish her and her family well.”
Netanyahu arrived in Moscow early Thursday morning from the US, where he had met with US President Donald Trump for the unveiling of the “Deal of the Century” – ostensibly to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Trump’s peace plan. He met Putin at the Kremlin about 10:30 a.m. and Putin told him that the memorial ceremonies during his visit to Israel last week were very touching. The two leaders also discussed regional issues and Trump’s peace plan, with Netanyahu telling Putin that he is the first leader he is speaking to about his visit to Washington and the new peace plan.
Naama Issachar was released overnight Wednesday after about 10 months of imprisonment in Russia for drug charges, the Russian prison service stated early Thursday morning.
“Due to the presidential pardon decision, Naama Issachar has been freed from prison,” the prison service said in a statement.
“I’m waiting to hug her,” said Naama’s mother, Yaffa, on Thursday morning. “I imagined this moment many many times but we never imagined that the prime minister would come to pick her up. I’m thankful to the Jewish people.”
Issachar was sentenced to 7.5 years of prison in Russia after she was accused of carrying about 10 grams of marijuana found in her luggage on a layover in Moscow from India to Israel.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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26 Responses
such lack of tzniyus is REALLY REALLY not fitting for a so called “yeshiva” website. i’m disappointed
Baruch Hashem! Completely different situation, but I wish Syria would have done the same with Eli Cohen in 1965. Sadly, Syria never even released his remains.
It’s gotta be nice to come from money, no consequences for your actions.
Chasdei H’. Now give up the drugs young lady!
heiliger yidele, time for you to leave YWN, find a therapist, and speak with a Rav. Unreal comment by you. The time has come. Plenty of other venues where there will be plenty of pictures of men.
Can someone explain – this whole issue is not clear!
We are all obviously happy that a Jewish child will not have to sit in a Russian Prison for 7 years. However why in the world is she a celebrity now ??! Flying with the Prime Ministers private plane ! This is a drug smuggler .
She should come home quietly with her head bowed low in embarrassment!!
Heiligger, are you from this planet? If I were you I would stick with hamodia print only.
Klal Israel, would you ask the same question about Rubashkin too?
Baruch atah hashem alokeinu melech haolam MATIR ASSURIM! I don’t care the charge I don’t care how, I don’t care what she’s wearing,. That’s utter stupidity. I just care that a taharahdig yiddishe neshama is no longer trapped in jail in a mamleches rasha. Baruch HASHEM!!!!
Tzniyus lol. You have no idea what the word means if this article or anything in it is ringing your tzniyus alarm bells.
Klal Yisroel -I agree with you.
There are many parts wrong with this story
1) We don’t know what Israel gave up to free her. They didn’t do the same in Gaza, Syria etc for bodies and people. What about all of those people who are coming from Israel with drug plants etc.. Israel gave into alot of things when Putin came over
2) Putin said it very succinctly” But keep in mind that they found drugs in her bag”. Meaning I received alot for her but she is still a criminal!
3) Why DOESN’T she have the decency to lay humble and low. If she actually didn’t carry any drugs, this is a different story. It’s a libel and needed to be pursued but if she WAS carrying…
TGIShabbos “heiliger yidele, time for you to leave YWN, find a therapist, and speak with a Rav. Unreal comment by you. The time has come. Plenty of other venues where there will be plenty of pictures of men.”
so in your opinion, all the boundaries that the chachomim- including not looking at a woman unless for the purpose of marriage- were made for people who need to go to the therapist, and yes there are plenty of bochurim and men looking at this site whether you like it or not.
AND BY THE WAY, don’t start saying that theres a difference between seeing and looking, the shevet halevi clearly paskens that ‘between seeing and looking is a chut hasa’ara’
if rubashkin is a hero she is can certainly fly on netanyahus plane
Klalyisroel- oh give us a break. Marijuana is decriminalized and even legal in many places including the United States. Getting 7.5 years in a Russian jail for a few grand is a scandal. At most should have just been a fine.
Of course we are happy she’s out noone deserves their life to pass from such nonsense. This whole move was for political extortion. Didn’t Putin get some land from Israel for this fiasco?
Don’t be do critical. It’s not like she’s done reknowned dealer. I’m sure many people you know smoke. Whether they tell you or not. Even in NYC it’s becoming more legal. Not that in endorsing I think you should avoid these things, but to put someone in jail for 7.5 years no less is pure corruption.
klal yisrael- 10 grams marijuana= drug smuggler? Really??!!
Cannabis is not a drug, it’s a medicine. It has been legalized in many countries, Russia is not (yet) one of them.
Shocking videos for YWN. Think they should come down.
YWN is getting worse.
Prob more kosher to watch CNN and Jerusalem post!!!
Que viva la marihuana!!!!
And to think that the treif government gave part of etetz HaKodesh
@tgishabbos heliger yiddele is 1000 percent right DONT CALL YOURSELF YESHIVA WORLD AS IF TO INSERT YOURSELF INTO THE MANTRA OF BNAI TORAH and put videos of a woman hugging bibi not right and deceiving also to people whose device block only yeshiva world. im just curious TGI are you the type whose whole yiddishkeit is based on shabbos?we used to make fun of those guys in yeshiva they slept the whole week but were verrrrrrrrrrry into shabbos maavir sedra singing zemiros LOL CHASAM SOFER SAYS LOI SIVARU WISH BCHOL MOSHEVOISECHEM BYOM HASHABOSS (DONT ONLY LIGHT A FIRE IN YOUR NESAHMA DAVKA ON SHABBOS!
such upsetting comments. cant we all just be happy for her and her family.
they obviously have been through so much and they have been strengthened spiritually.
the mother started out with a thank you to Hashem Naamah herself has for sure done tshuvah.
please let us not judge. we have all done things wrong. just find the ahavas yisroel in you and be happy for her.
Great. Another criminal in Israel.
Annoyed, how’d you know? I sleep all week and miss shacharis every day of the week. Yup, I’m addicted to shabbos and skip out on everything out on Yiddishkeit. Glad to hear you made fun of many yeshiva bochurim back in the day. Seems you have enough time to look at “inappropriate” pictures on YWN though, funny how that works.
A lot of rhetoric and extremism here. But the original poster is right. If this is a Yeshiva World website, then the article would be 100% adequate without the videos. This is true while being very happy for a freed Jewish Neshamah, and being grateful to Netanyahu, etc. These are not at all mutually exclusive.
Na’amah is an absolute Chiyuv to Bentsch Gomel:- I don’t care if she goes on a Bima in front of 10 men, or in front of 10 women at an all women’s Minjan, but she is a classical case of having come out of jail and having to Bentsch Gomel.
Meanwhile let me once again repeat two critical issues:-
1) NEVER accept anything from anyone, not even from an ostensibly nice looking Yehudi.
2) NEVER ever set foot in any rogue country, not even just to change flights just to save a few lousy bucks.
you know the funny thing, my gut reaction was to make fun of the mentally unbalanced commenters here, but I hadn’t really watched the videos through and through. So I decided you know what let me see what they’re whining about. Who knows what k missed?
M aybe after getting her freedom the girl went to the beach to get a tan and the news crew followed her? Or she jumped in the shower and the cameras caught it? So I watched all three videos a few times… Maybe someone could explain what is so troubling about them? All I see is a confused pure neshama who was tested in ways that none of us should ever be, who has been through hell, and almost had her life destroyed over something that isn’t even illegal in most of our country. I saw hakaras hatov, I saw a humble bearing and demeanor. Was an offensive video taken down that I missed?
Wow! The pure and unadulterated אהבת ישראל truly shines through so many of the sick comments here.
charedi amiti, you are right. they let Bibi and his ploinista back.