[Aneinu] YWN Chabad Shaliach in Russia Badly Wounded in Shooting [UPDATED 12:01 IL]

Chabad Shaliach in Russia Rabbi Ovadia Iskov, Chief Rabbi of Derbent, was seriously injured by gunfire. The rav, a man in his 40s, returned from shechita when an anonymous man fired at him near his home striking him in his chest. The rav was transported to a local hospital where he is reportedly fighting for his life. Police are involved in a manhunt for the perpetrator who fled the scene. Police are proceeding on the premise that the shooting was a hate attack, as local officials reported to his wife and four children. The rav and his family have been in the area for nine year and neighbors feel that it must be a hate crime for there is no other reason to explain the shooting attack. Israel’s Foreign Ministry is monitoring the situation, adding the location of the shooting is six hours from Moscow. The tzibur is asked to be mispallel for הרב עובדיה בן זהבה חיה בתוך כל חולי עם ישראל 12:01: With the assistance of Russia’s Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, a ZAKA medical team is scheduled to leave Eretz Yisrael at 15:00 on a charter flight in the hope of being able to stabilize the rav and transport him to Israel for continued medical care. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)