(lubavitch.com) An 8.9 earthquake off the coast of Japan, the largest to shake the country in at least one hundred years, and subsequent deadly Tsunami have rocked the island nation on Friday. Waves pounded coastal cities, killing hundreds in their wake, and forcing tens of thousands more to evacuate. The Israeli Foreign Ministry reports that 25 Israelis are missing at this time.

Before the onset of Shabbat in Japan lubavitch.com spoke to Rabbi Mendi Sudakevitch, Chabad’s representative to Japan. Sudakevitch reported that while they were frightened from the experience, they were unharmed and relatively safe. Tokyo, where Sudakevich and other members of the Jewish community are based, is 230 miles from earthquake’s epicenter and was relatively unaffected from the destruction.

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