“The Jewish Habad organisation said a rabbi who helped thousands of children affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster has died,” The Hindu reported.
The leading English-language newspaper in South India mourned the tragic passing of Lubavitch activist Yossie Raichik of a lung infection. He was 55.
He was the director of Habad’s “Children of Chernobyl” project, which airlifted 81 groups of children to Israel for treatment after the 1986 explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor sent a toxic radioactive cloud through a large area, the newspaper wrote.
Raichik was born in Los Angeles, where his parents were sent as emissaries by the leader of Chabad, a Jewish outreach organisation.
His passing shocked many in the Lubavitch and Jewish world – as Raichik was known for his travels and connections around the globe.
Eli Popack, a close family friend from Crown Heights, recently launched a new Facebook group titled “Yossi Raichiks Legacy” (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=36277893783).
“Yossi Inspired so many – we hope to keep that alive by connecting as many of Rabbi Yossi Raichiks friends worldwide to keep his dreams and hopes, for a better world, alive,” Popack wrote.
sooo sweet