Petr Lyukimson, Israel, exclusively to VK
Last Saturday, on July 27, all the synagogues of Israel held special prayers for the recovery of the Chief Rabbi of Derbent, Ovadia Isakov, who was a victim of an assassination attempt by unknown attackers - in all likelihood, fanatical terrorists. Similar prayers were held in Russia and in the synagogues of the Chabad movement in various countries around the world.
Rav Isakov, delivered to Israel on Thursday July 25 by special flight from Makhachkala accompanied by Israeli doctors, is currently in the Beilinson Hospital in the city of Petah Tikva. According to his relatives, on Saturday evening Rabbi Ishakov regained consciousness and immediately asked for one of the stories to be read to him about the great miracle worker and rabbi Baal Shem Tov - the founder of Hasidism.
In the same evening Rabbi Isakov was visited by the newly-elected Chief Rabbi of Israel, David Lau.
A doctor at the Beilinson Hospital, Ilya Kagan, said Rabbi Isakov's life still remains under threat, but in general the doctor was optimistic.
In Israel, a statement by the Acting Head of Dagestan Ramazan Abdulatipov, who called the attack on the rabbi "a dastardly crime" and pledged that those who committed it will be caught and punished, was welcomed. This statement has been reprinted by almost all electronic media in Israel. Israeli commentators have pointed out that other leaders of the republic made similar statements, as well as the fact that in Dagestan, and the Caucasus in general, others have always lived in peace with Jews, and they cannot be accused of anti-Semitism. In addition, Rabbi Ovadia Isakov was a shochet, that is, he carried out ritual slaughter of animals ("shechita"), and the rules of slaughter for Jews and Muslims are quite similar, and therefore kosher meat (i. e., the meat the Jews are allowed to eat) is also considered halal, i. e. Muslims are allowed to eat it, too. Thus, if an attempt on Rabbi Isakov's life was in fact carried out by local Muslim fanatics, the motive for their actions remains unclear.
Meanwhile, Israeli media point out that this attempt is not the first anti-Semitic attack in Derbent: in October 2012 near the Derbent synagogue a bomb exploded. Fortunately, no one was hurt by the explosion.
