In brief: Thousands attend Jewish siblings’ burial
JERUSALEM – Seven Jewish siblings who died in a devastating New York house fire were laid to rest Monday in Jerusalem at an emotional ceremony attended by several thousand mourners.
Friends and relatives of the Sassoon family attended the service, as well as supporters who only learned of the tragedy through the news. The chief rabbi of Israel and mayor of Jerusalem also paid their respects.
The bodies of the children, ages 5 to 16, were flown to Israel overnight from New York and were immediately taken to Jerusalem in a convoy escorted by police. According to Jewish tradition, funerals take place as soon as possible after death.
“Why seven? Seven beautiful lilies,” the children’s father, Gabriel Sassoon, cried out in an anguished eulogy. “So pure. So pure.”
He said he is drawing on his faith for strength.
The fire has shattered the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn.
WHO says politics not involved in Ebola decision
LONDON – The World Health Organization denied Monday that politics swayed the decision to declare an international emergency over the spread of the Ebola virus last year, despite evidence senior staffers repeatedly discussed the diplomatic and economic fallout of such a move.
A year after WHO declared that Ebola had been found in Guinea, the agency is on the defensive over reports that it dragged its feet when raising the international alarm over the disease. Internal communications published by the Associated Press last week documented senior agency staff discouraging the move about two months before the international alert was finally raised, citing diplomatic relations, mining interests and the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
WHO spokeswoman Dr. Margaret Harris said Monday that “political considerations did not play a role” and that notions to the contrary were due to a misinterpretation of the leaked documents.
An international emergency was eventually declared Aug. 8, by which point nearly 1,000 people had died.