Chabad rabbi brutally beaten in Ukraine dies of wounds

A Chabad rabbi who was severely beaten six months ago at a train station in the western Ukrainian city of Zhytomir died of his wounds this weekend.

Rabbi Mendel Deitsch was 64. He died in Israel where he was airlifted and treated following the attack days after Rosh Hashanah, which he spent in the Ukrainian town of Haditch, the resting place of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Lubavitch.

Deitsch was robbed of his cell phone and money and beaten at the main train station in the early hours of October 7, 2016 and left unconscious. He was not discovered until hours later, suffering from multiple head injuries and brain trauma.

Four people — two males and two females — were arrested for the assault two weeks later. According to local reports, two of them were minors.

Deitsch was a longtime Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in France and later served in Israel.

He had been in a coma since the attack at Tel Hashomer Hospital in Ramat Gan and never regained consciousness, according to Chabad.org, which added that he passed away on Saturday.

Deitsch is survived by his wife and 11 children, and three brothers. He was buried on Sunday in Jerusalem.