After remaining in Saint Martin and riding out the onset of Hurricane Irma in the Chabad House mikveh, the wife and children of a Chabad emissary were evacuated from the Caribbean Island on Shabbat.
Rabbi Moishe Chanowits, his wife Sara and five children aged under 8, remained on the island to offer assistance to others when Hurricane Irma first hit early on Wednesday. However, as the winds picked up speed again over Shabbat, the family had difficulty finding a safe haven.
An image showing the damage to the Chabad center in St Martin when Hurricane Irma passed through the Caribbean island on September 6, 2017 . (Chabad.org/News via JTA)
Even though Shabbat had already started, the family contacted World Chabad in New York and the ZAKA search and rescue organization to request assistance in being evacuated, despite the fact that all sea and air routes to the island were closed. A private plane was located to rescue the family, but the Dutch authorities on the island would not give the plane permission to land, despite Chabad and Israeli officials turning to government officials in The Netherlands.
Eventually a pilot bringing humanitarian aid into the area agreed to pick up the family, and flew them to Puerto Rico. Rabbi Moishe Chanowits remains on the island to assist others.
— JTA
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
