Efforts Underway to Repatriate the Bodies of Five Israelis Killed in the United States

ZAKA’s international unit said on Monday that efforts are continuing to release and bring back the bodies of five Israelis killed in two separate fatal incidents in the United States. The work is being done in coordination with Israel’s Foreign Ministry, local authorities, and the Jewish organization Metaskim, with the goal of bringing them to burial as quickly as possible.

According to ZAKA, in Los Angeles the release process has been completed for two Israelis in their 40s who died on Sunday in a single-vehicle crash in the Malibu area. After identification and documentation were completed with the authorities and the families were accompanied, the coffins are expected to land in Israel on Wednesday. They will be buried in Yavne and Ramla.

At the same time, efforts are continuing to release the bodies of three Israelis who were killed when a light plane crashed in the eastern United States. They are Yoav Bomrind from Zichron Yaakov, David Rabinowitz from Haifa, and Elad Nidek from Toronto.

ZAKA said the plane was traveling from New Jersey to Maryland when it crashed, and was found many hours later after local police received an automatic alert from one of the victims’ iPhones. The aircraft was discovered about 33 kilometers from Washington, with the three dead on board. ZAKA said Bomrind and Rabinowitz will be buried in Israel, while Nidek will be buried in Toronto, Canada.