A group of Jewish pilgrims from New York paid tribute to the memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel. They lit candles at the memorial complex of Rabbi Eliezer Papo in Silistra and prayed for peace and the rescue of all people taken hostage.

“We came to this sacred place to pray for our families and for our nation. We want the war to stop and the world to know that our rabbi teaches us that the important things are love, respect and humility. We are a peace-loving nation and we don’t want to kill anyone. We all have family and friends in Israel and we are worried about them. We believe that God wants peace,” said the organizer of the group Mordechai Berkowitz for the Bulgarian news agency BTA.

Eliezer Papo is one of the 12 most revered Jewish rabbis of the 19^th century. He was born in Sarajevo but chose to preach in Silistra, Bulgaria.