Terror Victims’ Families Visit Chabad House in Burgas

Families of the victims of the terror attack in Burgas, Bulgaria, visited the town this week. Accompanying them was the head shliach in Bulgaria, Rabbi Yosef Solomon.

The group ate supper at the Rohr Chabad Jewish community center in Sofia, which followed a memorial ceremony. The shliach spoke to the families about the terror attack. He also showed them the activities of Chabad in Bulgaria.

In a moving letter read out by a sister of one of the victims, the families thanked the shluchim for all of the help that they provided in the aftermath of the terror attack. Israeli ambassador Shaul Camissa-Raz, who organized the visit, addressed the families and expressed his gratitude to the Chabad movement and its shluchim, who were in Burgas during the summer and were among the first to arrive on the scene of the attack and offer their help.

A large memorial ceremony also took place in the large shul in Sofia, attended by hundreds of people. Among those present were the Bulgarian president and Israeli Minister Moshe “Boogie” Yaalon.

The group of families also visited the airport in Burgas, and they were shown exactly where their loved ones spent their last moments in this world before the fateful attack occurred. An additional ceremony was held there, during which Rabbi Solomon blew the shofar. The local mayor and the shliach in Burgas Rabbi Yossi Halperin attended this ceremony, along with the leaders of the security forces.

From there, the group went on to visit the Chabad House of Burgas-Sunny Beach, where the names of the victims are embroidered on a paroches donated by the company Kaftor VePerach. Rabbi Solomon later reported that some of them found it hard to leave, and they were stroking the paroches and crying.

The visit concluded with lunch at the Chabad House restaurant in the tourist resort.
(SOURCE & PHOTO: COL.ORG.IL)