Rabbi Chaim Drukman, a Holocaust Survivor and founding member of the “Gush Emunim” organization and “Or Etzion” Yeshiva, passed away Sunday at the age of 90 in Jerusalem. The rabbi, who was seen by the Israeli public as a unifying figure, was hospitalized for COVID complications, eventually passing away in the Hadassah Ein Karem hospital of Jerusalem.
Among the thousands who came to the rabbi’s funeral in the pouring rain was the Israeli President, Yitzhak Herzog, who delivered a eulogy; Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu; former Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett; Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who was a student of the rabbi and many other Knesset members, chief rabbis and students of religious Zionist institutions.
✡️🇮🇱 — PHOTOS: Thousands including Rabbis and politicians are attending the Levaya of Harav Drukman ztz”l, taking place now in Yishuv Merkaz Shapira. pic.twitter.com/Rt681REJB2
— Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) December 26, 2022
"The people of Israel lost one of Rabbi Akiva's disciples today, this Hanukkah," the president said. "He who miraculously survived the Nazi inferno, studied at the Kfar Hara Yeshiva, enlisted as a soldier in the Bnei Akiva brigades, and served in recent decades as the head of the Bnei Akiva yeshiva center."
Our tears for the loss of the great Rabbi Chaim Drukman Z"L have become intense rain drops. pic.twitter.com/NiOheCsHyL
— Chaim • חיים (@ChaimSmierc) December 26, 2022
"I am standing in front of your bed, the bed of someone who is all about love and faith - love for the people of Israel, love for the Land of Israel, and love for the Torah of Israel that sprouted in your heart," added the president. "You welcomed everyone with a warm greeting. I learned from the way you loved every Jew, regardless of who he was - from the leaders of Israel to ‘Geri Tzedek’. You worked with all your might so that everyone would live in peace and it didn't matter from which group, you met and loved everyone."
The Prime Minister-elect, Benjamin Netanyahu, also delivered a eulogy: "Despite the illness, he had enormous vitality and a great light shone from him. He saw the rise of our people and the rise of our country as a chapter on which it is appropriate to say the prayer for miracles. Rabbi Drukman endured the horrors of World War II. His life was taken many times, when you look at his life story, everything becomes clear and all the threads are woven together.”
World Mizrachi mourns the loss of Rabbi Chaim Drukman zt”l, one of the senior rabbinic leaders of the Religious Zionist movement.
— RedLehi (@LehiRed) December 25, 2022
May his memory be blessed. pic.twitter.com/iGzRTVpZUm
Netanyahu added “He was 12 years old when he stepped on the soil of Israel for the first time, he died at the age of 90. In between, he did many things for the people of Israel. What is taken away from his life story? Above all, the duty to use every moment for a purpose which is much greater than the individual person. If there is content and a purpose, the building of action will stand for generations."
Israel's chief rabbi, David Lau, addressed the large crowd by and summarized the late rabbi’s life by saying: "We stand here at the bedside of someone whose entire essence was love. He loved every soul, every creature in the State of Israel.
