Rav Yitzchok Yosef, Sefardic chief rabbi of the State of Israel, has ruled to declare a number of Israeli captives, both male and female, as casualties who were murdered by Hamas terrorists in the attack on Simchas Torah.
The ruling by the Chief Rabbi followed a dramatic discussion held in his office, attended by senior members of the military and security establishment, representatives from the healthcare system, Chief Military Rabbi Eyal Karim, Chief Justice of the Rabbinical Court Rabbi Ido Shachar, and the director-general of the Ministry of Religious Services, Yehuda Avidan.
After security officials presented data and facts, and once the rav confirmed that there was no doubt about their authenticity, the p’sak was issued declaring them “casualties.”
The halachic ruling’s implication was that the families could observe a seven-day shivah period even without a levayah.
Another poignant implication was the granting of widowhood to those whose spouses were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip and are now ruled to be deceased, allowing those almanos to remarry and not be agunos.
Minister of Religious Services Michoel Malkieli commented on the p’sakim: “After long and profound deliberations, in which the heads of the security establishment, the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the Ministry of Health, and the director-general of the Ministry all participated, those who facilitated the ruling of Maran HaRishon L’Tzion acted with sensitivity unique to the circumstances and the numerous implications. All the employees of the ministry who have worked and still work on this painful matter strengthen the hands of the dear families at this difficult time and offer condolences for the passing of their loved ones at the hands of the abhorrent Hamas murderers.”
Director-General Avidan added, “The sensitivity of Maran HaRishon L’Tzion on one hand and his determination to get to the truth on the other is what led to the ruling, as practiced by his father, Maran Hagaon Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l.”
{Matzav.com Israel}