A Hasidic singer, a dozen boys and teens, a father of 11: All 45 Meron victims – The Times of Israel

Posted By on May 8, 2021

The identification of all 45 victims from the Mount Meron tragedy has been completed, Israels Abu Kabir Forensic Institute said Sunday morning.

The victims, all male, included brothers, children as young as 9, young fathers, and rabbis. At least two families lost multiple children.

Among the victims of the fatal crush caused by overcrowding in a narrow walkway were 10 foreign citizens: six Americans, a British national, two Canadians, and an Argentinian.

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The incident, which happened early Friday during celebrations of the Lag BOmer festival, is the countrys deadliest-ever civilian disaster.

Dozens were buried Friday, but funeral services ceased during the Sabbath, from Friday evening until Saturday nightfall.

The Abu Kabir Forensic Institute said in a statement Sunday morning that by midnight it had completed the grim task of identifying all 45 victims.

By the morning 44 of the bodies had been released for burial and the last, at the request of the family, was to be released later in the day, the statement said.

Chen Kugel, director of the institute, said the process of identification was delicate, with the institute having to balance its professional duties with the needs of the bereaved families.

A disaster of this magnitude requires very complex assessments on the part of the institute staff. The need and request of the families for a speedy completion of the process was understandable and we acted in accordance, but we did not compromise on the professional steps required to do so. I would like to express my condolences to the families, he said in a statement.

People gather outside the home of a victim of the Meron crush, in the City of Bnei Brak, on April 30, 2021. (Flash90)

Among the victims were people whose families live overseas, further complicating the process. Six of the victims held US citizenship and one was from Argentina. Two were Canadian. One was British.

Following is a full list of the 45 victims.

Menahem Zeckbach, 24, of Modiin Illit was buried on Friday afternoon in his hometown of Bnei Brak. He is survived by his pregnant wife and their 1-year-old child.

Menahem Zakbah, 24, of Modiin Illit was killed during the crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (courtesy)

Simcha Diskind, 23, of Beit Shemesh was buried on Friday in Haifa. He is survived by his wife and two young children.

Simcha Diskind, 23, of Beit Shemesh was killed during the crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (courtesy)

Rabbi Shraga Gestetner of Montreal, Canada came to Israel for the Lag BOmer celebrations. A well-known singer in the Hasidic world, he was buried in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon but with no immediate family present in Israel. Hundreds turned out for the funeral to make up for the absence of his family abroad.

A member of the Skverer Hasidic sect, he is survived by his wife and five children. In recent years he had been living in Monsey, New York.

Shraga Gestetner, of Montreal, was killed during the fatal crush at Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (screenshot: YouTube)

Shimon Matalon, 38, of Beitar Illit is survived by his 11 children.

Shimon Matalon, 38, of Beitar Illit was killed during the crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (courtesy)

Yedidia, 13, was from Bnei Brak. He came to the event with his family.

Yedidia Hayut, 13 of Bnei Brak, killed during the deadly crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (Courtesy)

David Krauss, 33, from the city of Beit Shemesh is survived by nine children.

Moshe Bergman, 24, was originally from Manchester, England. He was studying in the Mir Yeshiva and living in Jerusalem.

Moshe Bergman, 24, was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

Haim Rock, 19, was from the central city of Beit Shemesh.

Yisrael Anakvah, 24, from Beit Shemesh is survived by his two children.

Yisrael Anakvah, 24 of Beit Shemesh, killed during the fatal crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (Courtesy)

Eliyahu Cohen, 16, was from Beitar Illit.

Eliyahu Cohen, 16, was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

Hanoch Slod, 52, was from Ashdod.

Hanoch Slod, 52, of Ashdod was killed during the deadly crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (courtesy)

Elazar Mordechai Goldberg, 37, of Beitar Illit, had four children.

Elazar Mordechai Goldberg, 37, of Beitar Illit was killed during the deadly crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (courtesy)

Moshe Ben Shalom, 20, was from Bnei Brak.

Moshe Ben Shalom, 20, of Bnei Brak was killed during the deadly crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (Courtesy)

Yedidya Fogel from Jerusalem studied in a yeshiva in the central city of Ramat Gan.

Yedidya Fogel, 22, of Jerusalem was killed during the deadly crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (courtesy)

Rabbi Yonatan Hebroni was a father of three from the city of Givat Shmuel.

Yonatan Hebroni, of Givat Shmuel was killed during the stampede in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (courtesy)

Brothers Moshe Mordechai Elhadad, 12, and Yosef David Elhadad, 18, were residents of Jerusalem.

Brothers Moshe Mordechai Elhadad, right, and Yosef David Elhadad, were killed during the deadly crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (courtesy)courtesy)

Brothers Moshe Natan Neta Englard, 14, and Yehoshua Englard, 9, were from Jerusalem.

Moshe Natan Neta Englard, 14, and Yehoshua Englard, 9, were from Jerusalem. (courtesy)

Haim Seler, 24, of Jerusalem is survived by his wife and 2-week-old daughter.

Haim Seler, 24, of Jerusalem was killed during the deadly crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (courtesy)

Yehuda Leib Rubin, 27, was from Beit Shemesh.

Yehuda Leib Rubin, 27 of Beit Shemesh, was killed during the deadly crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (Courtesy)

Shmuel Zvi Klagsbald, 43, is survived by eight children.

Shmuel Zvi Klagsbald, 43, who was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

Yosef Amram Tauber, 19, of Monsey, New York, was a student at the Brisk yeshiva. A relative said that he left for Israel to attend the yeshiva for the first time last week.

Donny Morris, 19, from Teaneck, New Jersey. Donny had been attending the event with a group from the Shaalvim yeshiva, where he was a student.

Daniel (Donny) Morris was killed during the deadly crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021.(Courtesy)

Moshe Levy was 14, from Bnei Brak.

Moshe Levy, 14, who was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

Yosef Yehuda Levy was 17, of Rechasim near Haifa.

Yosef Yehuda Levy, 17, who was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

Nahman Kirshbaum, 15, was from Beit Shemesh.

Nahman Kirshbaum, 15, of Beit Shemesh was killed during the deadly crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (courtesy)

Ariel Tzadik was 57, from Jerusalem.

Ariel Tzadik, 57 of Jerusalem, killed during the deadly crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (Courtesy)

Rabbi Eliezer Tzvi Joseph, 26, was a father of four from Kiryas Joel, New York. A Satmar Hasid, he was the father of four children.

Abraham Daniel Ambon, 21, was an Argentine studying at a yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Abraham Daniel Ambon, 21 of Argentina, killed during the deadly crush in Mt. Meron on April 30, 2021. (Courtesy)

Dubi Steinmetz, 21, was from Canada.

Dubi Steinmetz, 21, who was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

Yishai Mualem, 17, was from Rechasim near Haifa.

Yishai Mualem, 17, who was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

Yosef Mastorov, 18, was from Ramla.

Yosef Mastorov, 18, who was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

Yosef Greenbaum, 22, was from Haifa.

Yosef Greenbaum, 22, who was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

Elazar Yitzchok Koltai, 13, was from Jerusalem. He had lived in Passaic, New Jersey, before moving to Israel with his family.

Elazar Yitzchok Koltai, 13, who was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

Menachem Knoblowitz, 22, of Borough Park, Brooklyn. He was engaged to a young woman from Lakewood, New Jersey, according to social media.

Menachem Knoblowitz, 22, of Borough Park, Brooklyn was killed in the Meron disaster (Courtesy)

Elkana Shiloh, 28, was a resident of Jerusalem.

Elkana Shiloh, 28, who was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

Elazar Gafner, 52, was a resident of Jerusalem.

Yossi Kohn, 21, of Cleveland, Ohio, was a student at the Mir Yerushalayim yeshiva.

Yossi Kohn, 21, who was killed in the Meron deadly crush (courtesy)

Shlomo Zalman Leibowitz, 19, was a resident of Safed.

Shlomo Zalman Leibowitz, 19, of Safed was killed in the Meron deadly crush (Courtesy)

Moshe Tzarfati, 65, was from Jerusalem. He is survived by four children and 25 grandchildren.

Moshe Tzarfati, 65, was killed in the Lag BOmer Meron deadly crush (Courtesy)

Ariel Achdut, 20, was from Jerusalem, and studied at a yeshiva in Tel Aviv.

Chen Doron, 41, was a resident of Holon.

Mordechai Fakata, 24, of the Satmar Hasidic sect, was a father of two.

Mordechai Fakata, 24, who was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

Yaakov Elchanan Starkovsky, 20, from Elad, was a student at a yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Yaakov Elchanan Starkovsky, 20, who was killed in the Meron crush (courtesy)

On Sunday, Israel began a day of mourning for the victims, ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Flags were lowered to half-staff at the Knesset and President Reuven Rivlins official residence, and ceremonies were expected at the Knesset and army bases. A cabinet meeting scheduled for Sunday was canceled. Concerts and sports events were postponed. And the Jerusalem school system announced it would dedicate its studies on Sunday to the tragedy.

New York Jewish Week via JTA contributed to this report.

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A Hasidic singer, a dozen boys and teens, a father of 11: All 45 Meron victims - The Times of Israel

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