At least 17 rabbis dead as coronavirus strikes community leaders

Rabbi Avroham Levi Bressler, 55, of Lakewood, New Jersey, was known for his accomplishments in learning and his humility.

By Josh Plank, World Israel News

Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, at least 17 rabbis worldwide have died due to the disease.

The below list may not be complete, and any omissions are purely unintentional.

Rabbi Uri Ashkenazi, 76, was leader of the Stanislaver Hasidic community of London.

Rabbi Massoud Ben Chamu, 72, was the rabbi of Kehillas Mekor Chaim in Paris.

Rabbi Avroham Levi Bressler, 55, of Lakewood, New Jersey, was known for his accomplishments in learning and his humility.

Rabbi Avraham (Romi) Cohn, 92, was rabbi of Congregation Adas Yereim Vien in Brooklyn, New York. He was a Holocaust survivor who went on to fight the Nazis in his native Czechoslovakia, later recording his experiences in his book, The Youngest Partisan.

Rabbi Boruch Hersh Feder, 73, was a long-time teacher in a Satmar yeshiva in Williamsburg, New York.

Rabbi Avrohom Eliezer Gordon was a rabbi for nearly 50 years at Yeshiva Bais Dovid in Monsey, New York, before recently moving to Lakewood.

Rabbi Mordechai Gurary, 84, served as the rabbi of the Chevra Shas synagogue in Crown Heights, New York, for many decades.

Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Dovid Konikov, 58, was a rabbi at Lubavitch Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim in Crown Heights for many years.

Rabbi Nachman Morgan, known for his classes for all ages, was a rabbi at the Yeshiva Rav Isacsohn Torah Emes Academy in Los Angeles.

Rabbi Menachem Mordechai Nissim, 69, of Crown Heights moved to New York from Israel as a young man to study at Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim.

Rabbi Yisroel Yechezkel Plutchok was the head and co-founder of Yeshiva Derech Chaim in Boro Park, New York.

Rabbi Yehuda Yaakov Refson, 73, was the senior Chabad emissary in Leeds, England, and head of the regional rabbinical court since 1976. He was rabbi of the Shomrei Hadass Synagogue and the co-director of the Leeds Menorah School.

Rabbi Gershon Sabol, 64, was the executive director of the Yedei Chesed organization in Monsey, New York. The organization helps children with special needs.

Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Schmidt of Lakewood was one of the owners of the Paskesz Candy Company of New York.

Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Speigel, 88, was leader of the Ostrov-Kalishiner Hasidic community of New York.

Rabbi Shimon Susholtz, 84, was the rabbi of Congregation Keren Orah in Brooklyn, New York.

Rabbi Masoud Touboul, age 60, was one of the leading Chabad emissaries in France and director of the Beit Hanna girls’ institution in Paris.