JERUSALEM (JTA) — Synagogues, yeshivas and organizations throughout Israel held special services for the safe return of three kidnapped Israeli teens.
Several senior rabbis, mostly from the Modern Orthodox community, called on communities to hold the special services, known as Yom Kippur katan, which are held on the eve of Rosh Chodesh, or the new month. Haredi Orthodox leaders also supported the call for the services derived from Kabbalah.
The three communities where the boys live — Nof Ayalon, Talmon, and Elad — were among those to hold the services, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Also Thursday, a third group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
“Hezbollah brigades,” an unknown group, said it kidnapped the teens to avenge the 2008 killing of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyah by a car bomb in Damascus. The attack has been blamed on Israel.
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