Four Israeli tourists who had been kidnapped by Kashmiri rebels in northern India on June 26 returned home Friday to a joyous welcome here.
Three are still recovering from wounds sustained in the shootout, which resulted in the death of one Israeli and the capture of another, 22-year-old Yair Yitzhaki.
Yitzhaki was held hostage for a week by the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, an extremist Moslem group seeking the separation of Kashmir province from India.
He was released to a U.N. representative July 3, following an appeal by U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar. But he waited for his compatriots to be discharged from a Bombay hospital before flying home.
Yitzhaki’s parents, 11 brothers and sisters, who are Orthodox Jews from the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, came to Ben-Gurion Airport with hundreds of neighbors and well-wishers.
They insist his safe return was a divine act in response to their prayers at the Western Wall and the prayerful intervention of prominent rabbinical authorities.
The four men belonged to a party of seven Israelis and a Dutch woman vacationing in Kashmir when they were kidnapped off a houseboat on Lake Dal near Srinagar, the provincial capital.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
