In the wake of the tragic terror attack Friday at the kosher supermarket in Paris in which four French Jews were murdered, the Zaka Rescue and Recovery organization is sending a team of volunteers from Israel to lead the efforts to clean the terror scene in accordance with halacha.

The team from Israel, which consists of Zaka International Rescue Unit head Mati Goldstein and veteran Zaka volunteer Dano Monkotovitz, is arriving in Paris on Sunday evening 20 Teves. Goldstein and Monkotovitz will work alongside locally-based volunteers from the Zaka unit in France and in cooperation with the local emergency forces and Jewish organizations. In addition to ensuring that all human remains and spilled blood are cleared from the area, the Zaka volunteers will also assist the local Jewish burial society in preparing the bodies for transport to and burial in Israel.

The French volunteers have all graduated from courses led by Israeli Zaka personnel, giving them the tools and halachic knowledge to deal with the deadly aftermath of terror attacks and mass casualty incidents. Goldstein and Monkotovitz have years of experience in dealing with such incidents around the world, including, among others, terror in Mumbai Chabad House and Toulouse and natural disasters such as Haiti and Japan.

The ZAKA International Rescue Unit was recognized in 2005 by the United Nations as an international humanitarian volunteer organization.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)