Body of Young Chassidic Scholar Recovered in Moldova After Diplomatic Push

The body of Rabbi Akiva Rand, a 29-year-old young married Haredi scholar, was released by authorities in Moldova after an urgent diplomatic effort and is expected to be flown to Israel on a private plane, likely before Shabbat, for burial without delay. The release followed a campaign by ZAKA and its international unit, which worked to prevent an autopsy and other delays after the fatal crash near Chisinau.

According to the report, the pressure to secure the body was led by Moti Babchik, who personally brought in Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. High-level diplomatic channels were activated with the Moldovan government, and Babchik and Saar worked intensively with officials in Chisinau until the body was released.

Rand died during a trip to Moldova with a group of Chassidim who had traveled to visit the grave of Rabbi Yechiel Heshel of Krilovitz at the old cemetery in Chisinau, on the yahrzeit that fell this week. While driving on the Chisinau road, he lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road and plunged into a deep ravine. Local rescuers declared him dead at the scene, and the other passengers were injured and taken to a local hospital.

Born in London, Rand was the son of Rabbi Mordechai David Rand, a prominent Tchernobyl Chassid, and the son-in-law of Rabbi Yosef Mordechai Weiss, rabbi of the Machzikei Hadat community in Zurich. After his marriage he lived in Jerusalem, studied in the Nahalat Akiva kollel, and taught boys at the Kikar Yaakov Tchebin yeshiva. Acquaintances described him as a gentle, God-fearing Torah scholar who, after years of waiting with his wife for children, left behind three young orphans.