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JERUSALEM (AP) — Seven siblings who died in a New York house fire over the weekend have been laid to rest in Jerusalem -- at an emotional ceremony attended by several thousand mourners.
Israel's chief rabbi and the mayor of Jerusalem joined friends and relatives of the family at today's service, as did supporters who learned of the tragedy through the news.
The bodies of the children, ages 5 to 16, were flown to Israel overnight from New York. They were immediately taken to Jerusalem in a convoy escorted by police. According to Jewish tradition, funerals take place as soon as possible after death.
In an anguished eulogy, the children's father -- Gabriel Sassoon -- cried out, "Why seven?" He described the children as "seven beautiful lilies." Sassoon described how his wife, although burned, managed to jump from a second-floor window to try to get help to save her children.
Israel's chief rabbi for European Jews urged the family to remain strong.
Israeli media have said the family lived in Jerusalem before moving to New York two years ago.
The fire shattered the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn. Investigators believe it was caused when a hot plate, left on for the Jewish Sabbath, malfunctioned.
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197-r-12-(Sound of Alon Edri (al-OHN' EHD'-ree), identified himself as a rabbi and family friend, in AP interview)--Sound of Alon Edri, who identified himself as a friend of the Sassoon family, saying in Hebrew that it's important to be buried in Israel because there is a sacred belief that all wrongs will be absolved when one is laid to rest there. (23 Mar 2015)
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196-r-33-(Sound of Gabriel Sassoon, father of seven children killed in Brooklyn house fire, speaking in Hebrew at funeral where their bodies were shrouded on stretchers)--Sound of Gabriel Sassoon, the father of the children who died, saying in Hebrew that God "caught seven lilies," and then going on to ask, "Why seven? One was not enough?" And he says there were no children like them, "they were so pure." (23 Mar 2015)
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198-r-25-(Sound of man chanting in Hebrew, at emotional funeral, with the bodies of seven children shrouded on stretchers)--Sound of religious chanting in Hebrew at the funeral for the seven children killed in a Brooklyn house fire, their bodies wrapped in shrouds and lying on stretchers before dozens of mourners. (23 Mar 2015)
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APPHOTO XOB108: Ultra-Orthodox Jews carry one of seven Jewish siblings killed in a New York house fire, during their funeral, in Jerusalem, Monday, March 23, 2015. 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. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) (23 Mar 2015)
<<APPHOTO XOB108 (03/23/15)££
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