Rabbi Robbed, Beaten in Ukraine

By COLlive reporter

Rabbi Mendel Deitsch, an Israeli citizen who is active in the Jewish community in Ukraine, was found unconscious and in serious condition on Friday.

From initial reports it seems that Deitsch was robbed near the Jitomir train station in the Pryvokzal’na Square of the western Ukrainian city of Zhitomir.

Deitsch run the operation around the holy gravesite of the Alter Rebbe in the town of Hadiatch where hundreds of Jews regularly visit from all over the world.

He was left there bleeding for hours and was found at around 11:00 AM, one report said. “They crushed his face, broke his teeth and his skull. He’s in critical condition.”

Zhitomir’s Chief Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm is said to be with Deitsch in the hospital and is overseeing his care.

The motive for the attack remains unknown, Chabad.org noted. Violent anti-Semitic attacks in Ukraine are rare, and there is no indication at this time that it was anti-Semitic in nature.

Two doctors were brought in from the capital city of Kiev to Zhitomir where Deitsch is being operated by the time Shabbos has begun in Ukraine.

“The most important thing at this time is that people pray for the full recovery of Menachem Mendel Mordechai ben Miriam,” Rabbi Wilhelm said.