JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli President Reuven Rivlin hosted the children of the Chabad-Lubavitch couple working as emissaries in Nepal.
The three children of Chani and Chezki Lipshitz arrived at the president’s residence on Wednesday afternoon accompanied by their grandmother Yehudit Fleischman and Nepalese caregiver Lolita, who lives with the family at the Chabad house in Kathmandu.
The children, ages 4-6, were among the more than 300 Israelis airlifted out of Nepal in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake that hit near the Nepalese capital on Saturday. Their parents remained behind to assist those affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The death toll is over 5,000 and expected to grow.
On Thursday, the children will begin attending school in Israel. They will remain in Israel until rescue efforts have been completed and they can safely return.
During the children’s visit, Rivlin called their parents.
“The work you are doing for the whole world, and of course for the Israelis in Nepal, is extraordinary, from a Jewish, Israeli and universal perspective,” the president told them. “The way in which you open your home and give others a sense of home in times of need is tremendous.”
