25-Year-Old Bochur Beaten Nearly to Death in Kiev

A 25-year-old bochur in the Chabad Yeshiva in Kiev, Ukraine was savagely beaten on his way back from the Seder on the second night of Pesach; he is reportedly in grave condition.

Please say Tehilim for Aaron Alexander ben Avraham.

From Yeshiva World News:

Efforts continue to bring the victim of the Seder night attack in Kiev to a medical center in Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Yaakov Zilberman, a Chabad Rabbi who is also the local Zaka official in Kiev confirms that the young talmid, 22, is now listed in grave condition and he is in need of Am Yisrael’s tefilos.

Rav Zilberman explains the attack occurred on the second night seder, motzei Shabbos, between 12:30 and 01:00 AM. He was seen walking out of range of the surveillance cameras, the rabbi adds.

Rav Zilberman explained he was at the hospital and the young man is in an intensive care unit on a respirator and doctors stress his condition is “life threatening”.

From Ynet:

Yaakov Zilberman told Ynet that Aharon Alexander, 25, who is a student in a local yeshiva, was last spotted by CCTVs as leaving the synagogue on Saturday night.

He was found on Sunday night, suffering from serious head injuries, believed to have been caused by glass bottles. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and is in critical condition.“

”We were searching for him for an entire day and we eventually found him in what we know is a dangerous area, some 400 meters from the synagogue. Attacks by neo-Nazi groups have happened there before,“ Zilberman said.

He added that the community is seeking to fly Alexander for treatment in Israel, as local doctors gave him a grim prognosis.

”There’s a sense of anger and some fear,“ he added. ”This isn’t the Passover we had in mind… We’ve warned against a rise in anti-Semitism here and about cases of verbal assaults.“

The community believes the assault was racially motivated, but according to Zilberman, the police are reluctant to investigate the crime as an anti-Semitic one are trying to cover it up.

Rabbi Moshe Asman told Ynet that, ”We will not rest until the assailants are found and brought to justice.”

The Jewish community in Kiev has reportedly alerted authorities to a group of skinheads that have made threats against its members.

Community members noted that they try not to sport any traditional Jewish garment, such as yarmulkes, when walking Kiev’s streets.

The CCTV footage of Alexander prior to the assault shows him wearing his yarmulke upon leaving the synagogue, and according to Zilberman, it is likely that is why the assailants targeted him.