As international search and rescue crews descend upon Türkiye to help relief efforts in the aftermath of Monday's earthquakes, Israel's Ashkenazi chief rabbi called on Israeli teams to continue their work on Shabbat. The Shabbat, or sabbath, is the Jewish holy day of rest, which runs from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday.
"A dreadful tragedy occurred this week in Türkiye. A severe earthquake hit many cities and a large number of buildings collapsed upon their residents. Rescue operations have been ongoing for several days. Wherever there is any chance of saving lives and finding survivors, the rescue teams must continue their activities," David Lau said in a statement.
Shabbat is considered a holy day of rest during which all forms of work are explicitly forbidden. A field hospital established by Israeli forces in Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the disaster, will also continue to function as usual and provide medical assistance to the victims of the earthquakes, in which over 18,000 people have died. Israel joined earthquake relief efforts in Türkiye with 450 personnel.
