Seven Jewish Brooklyn house fire victims buried in Jerusalem

Mourners attend the funeral of the seven children from the #Sassoon family in Jerusalem earlier today. #BrooklynFire pic.twitter.com/o5APPUhXRo
— Israel News Flash (@ILNewsFlash) March 23, 2015

Seven Jewish siblings who died in a devastating New York house fire have been laid to rest 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 the mayor of Jerusalem also paid their respects.

The bodies of the children, aged five to 16, were flown toIsrael 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.

JERUSALEM: Burial ceremony taking place now for the 7 #Sassoon children killed in #BrooklynFire. – @IsraelHatzolah pic.twitter.com/wfTt7kZU3R

— Israel News Flash (@ILNewsFlash) March 23, 2015

“Why seven? Seven beautiful lilies,” the children’s father, Gabriel Sassoon, cried out in an anguished eulogy. “So pure. So pure.”

He recounted how his children enjoyed studying the Torah and other Jewish texts.

“They were such innocent children,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. He later called out the names of his children, one by one.

Mr Sassoon described how his wife, although burned, managed to jump out of a second-floor window to try and get help to save her children.

He said he is drawing on his faith for strength.

The children’s bodies, wrapped in shrouds, were placed on stretchers for the memorial service, held in a room at Jerusalem’s main cemetery packed with scores of mourners.

Thousands more stood outside.

Some mourners rocked back and forth in prayer, their cheeks wet with tears, as they listened to the eulogies. Afterwards, many in the crowd walked with the family in a procession to bury the bodies.

David Lau, Israel‘s chief rabbi for Ashkenazi – or European – Jews, described the fire as an unspeakable tragedy and urged the family to remain strong.

“Each one is a flower in God’s garden,” he said.

The fire has shattered the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in the Midwood neighbourhood of Brooklyn.

Investigators believe it was caused when a hot plate, left on for the Jewish Sabbath, malfunctioned, setting off flames that incinerated the stairs of their home, trapping the children in their second-floor bedrooms as they slept.

The blaze killed three girls and four boys. Both the mother and a daughter – Gayle Sassoon and 14-year-old Siporah Sassoon – remain in critical condition.

New York fire officials have described the blaze as the city’s worst house fire in recent memory.

The tragedy had some reconsidering the practice of keeping hot plates on for the Sabbath, a common modern method of obeying tradition prohibiting the use of fire on the holy day.

Israeli media said the family lived in Jerusalem before moving to New York two years ago, and the tragedy dominated Israeli news broadcasts.

Alon Edri, who identified himself as a rabbi and relative of the family, said it was significant for them to be buried in the Holy Land.

“We believe that being buried in Israel is important because all of your sins are then absolved,” he said.