An Israeli man who was traveling with his wife in Namibia died last Wednesday, in the midst of the Sukkot holiday, after suffering a cardiac arrest.
His coffin is expected to be flown to Israel tomorrow for burial.
After his death, ZAKA's international unit began working with local authorities, together with teams from the Foreign Ministry and Rabbi Yosef Rahimi, a Chabad member working in Namibia - with the goal of having the body released and flown to Israel for burial, while preserving the dignity of the deceased.
However, at some point, the Namibian authorities announced that they intended to perform an autopsy on the deceased's body.
A Chabad activist, who worked with local authorities, put Yossi Landau, the head of the Lachish region's ZAKA, on a video call so that he could explain to the pathologist the sensitivity involved in the autopsy and ask him to minimize it as much as possible.
But then the conversation took an unexpected turn. The pathologist looked at Landau through the screen and said: "You look familiar to me. I know you from somewhere.".
During the conversation, it turned out that the two met about 19 years ago, during the plane crash in Namibia in which five Israelis were killed.
ZAKA volunteers then went to Namibia, worked at the scene, and engaged in identifying the dead and in efforts to bring them for burial in Israel.
The doctor remembered Landau and the activities of the ZAKA volunteers at that event, and in particular the great importance they placed on preserving the dignity of the deceased.
Landau explained to him the halachic significance and sensitivity involved in dissecting the deceased's body, and asked to reduce the autopsy to the minimum possible. The doctor, moved by the reunion, decided to honor the family's request and forgo the autopsy in accordance with Jewish law.
Yossi Landau, ZAKA Lachish area medical officer: "When the doctor saw me on the screen, he immediately said to me: 'You look familiar to me.' And we remembered that we met 19 years ago, at the plane crash in which five Israelis were killed. He remembered our activity and our struggle for the dignity of the deceased. I explained to him how important it was for us to prevent the autopsy and bring the deceased to burial in peace.".
""He was very moved by the reunion, understood the significance and complied with our request to release the deceased without an autopsy at all. It was an exciting closing of a circle to see how ZAKA's activities from almost two decades ago have helped us today to maintain the dignity of the deceased.".
""We thank Rabbi Yosef Rahimi for his activity with the local authorities and the Institute of Forensic Medicine and for his assistance throughout the handling of the case.".
