Huge crowd due for Israel rabbi funeral under heavy guard

BNEI BRAK, ISRAEL - Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews were expected at the funeral on Sunday of influential rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, known to followers as the"Prince of Torah", with authorities warning of dangers from massive overcrowding.

The Magen David Adom , Israel's equivalent of the Red Cross, said the funeral could be one of the largest gatherings in"Israeli history" and that hundreds of paramedics and other first responders were in place.Rabbi Kanievsky was the de facto head of what is commonly called the Lithuanian branch of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, and his knowledge of Jewish law was so revered that his rulings were thought to require total compliance within his community.

Mr Aryeh Deri, a political leader and rabbi from the Sephardic haredi group - which has its roots in southern Europe and North Africa, rather than the Middle East - said rabbi Kanievsky transcended"definition".Despite his prominence, rabbi Kanievsky lived in a modest Bnei Brak apartment, where religious texts lined the walls of a small study.

A Jerusalem Post op-ed accused rabbi Kanievsky of committing an act of"civil disobedience" unprecedented in Israel's history, at a time when the rest of the Jewish state was required to isolate.

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