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Israeli Divers To Search Danube River For Remains Of Holocaust Victims [VIDEO]


Nearly 75 years after tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews were shot at the banks of the River Danube in Budapest in 1944, ZAKA Search and Rescue divers are about to begin searching the river in an attempt to retrieve their bones for a full Jewish burial. This, after three years of protracted international negotiations by ZAKA representatives to receive permission for the historic search and recovery mission, including requests made at the highest level of government. The decision to allow ZAKA divers to commence work was announced following a meeting this week between Interior Minister Aryeh Deri in Budapest with his Hungarian counterpart.

Over the decades, there have been no attempts to locate and retrieve the bones of the Holocaust victims who fell by the thousands into the river as a result of the mass executions by the Arrow Cross party members.

The ZAKA Search and Rescue organization, which is known for its work around the world to bring victims of terror attacks and mass casualty incidents to a full Jewish burial, took upon itself this historic task of retrieving and finally burying the bones in accordance with Jewish law. The movement of the water and boats, natural decay and even repair work to the bridges over the Danube all add to the logistical challenge of the project.

The ZAKA divers will be assisted in their search by a recently-purchased sonar device, which can descend to a depth of 150 meters and scan within 130 meters, quickly identifying objects and transferring the information and exact location to the device operator.

Head of the EMIH – Hungarian Jewish Federation Rabbi Shlomo Kovesh, appointed by the Hungarian government as the liaison for the project, contacted ZAKA last week to advise that all the necessary approvals are now in place. As a result, an initial delegation of ZAKA divers, headed by ZAKA Special Units commander Haim Outmezgine, is currently in Budapest and plans to begin searching the river tomorrow (Tuesday) with the help of the ZAKA sonar device.

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, met with the ZAKA divers on the banks of the Danube and expressed his gratitude for their initiative and the difficult logistical operation they are about to embark on: “I am pleased that the Hungarian Interior Minister has promised assistance, support and technological equipment for the benefit of this project, and I hope that the ZAKA divers will be able to bring these holy martyrs to a full Jewish burial.”

ZAKA Chairman Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, who has personally been involved in this project over the last three years: “This is the final act of chesed that we can do for these holy martyrs who were murdered in Kiddush Hashem. ZAKA sees this as a mission of the highest order and value, to do everything we can to finally bring them to burial in accordance with Jewish law.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)



2 Responses

  1. for pr zaka would do anything , even on succos when a someone staying at the waldorf or david citadel needs hatzalah they come. but do they come to someone in mea sharrrrrim thats having heart problems? and if they do do they have the same enthusiastic response as they do in big pr cases like 2008 mumbai and this current one? where were they when that boy from reb tzvi kaplans yeshiva went missing in the forest of givat shaul ? were they actively involved as they are now? rabbi meshi maybe all the good work that you have done and the lifetime of chesed that you have lived might have gotten to your head and maybe it is time to reevaluate your priorities.

  2. Genuk Shoin – we are talking about ZAKA (not HATSALAH – who ae wonderful)

    ZAKA = זק”א = זיהוי קורבנות אסון

    Yes these are the wonderful Yidden u see after every terrorist attack – Lo Aleinu_ going around cleaning fresh blood from wherever they can
    Pls have a look at: https://www.zaka.us/

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