Members of the delegation of the kidnapped families, who traveled with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, DC, arrived early Friday morning at the Ohel gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in New York.
From there, they proceeded to a special visit at 770, the world headquarters of Chabad. They were received by representatives of Tzach in Israel, who have been assisting the kidnapped families since Simchat Torah.
They prayed in the Rebbe’s room, where they were specially welcomed by Rabbi Chaim Boruch Halberstam, who prepared them before their entry. They visited the Chabad Library, where they were greeted by the librarian Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber Levine, who gave an informative explanation about the library and the exhibition. They toured the broadcast room and the main synagogue (the large zal). The visit to 770 was guided and led by Rabbi Mendel Eisenbach, the director of the 770 Chabad House.
Accompanying the delegation from Washington to New York were Shliach Rabbi Mendel Fogelman and his son Rabbi Levi Fogelman, who received and guided them at the Rebbe’s gravesite and at 770. The trip was organized by Rabbi Shimi Segal, the director of the kidnapped families’ journey on behalf of Tzach, under the leadership of the Chairman of Tzach, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov.
Alongside Noa Argamani and her father Yaakov Argamani, the participants in the trip included: Attorney Talik Guilli, mother of YSM officer Ran Guilli, of blessed memory, whose body is held by Hamas; Eli Bibas, father of the kidnapped Yarden Bibas and grandfather of the children Kfir and Ariel, who were kidnapped and whose fate is unknown; Ayelet Samarnu, mother of Yonatan Samarnu, who was kidnapped in Nova and declared murdered after 59 days; Ofir Shaul, brother of Oron Shaul, who was kidnapped during Operation Protective Edge; Shuli Shem Tov, mother of Omer Shem Tov, 21, who was kidnapped to Gaza from Nova; Esther Yehali, mother of the kidnapped Ohad Yehudai, who is still held in Gaza; and the grandmother of Eitan, 12, who was released after 52 days, among others.
