Rabbi Issachar Wasserlauf, the father of the Minister for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee, Yitzhak Wasserlauf, passed away last night (Sunday) at the age of 72. In the last year Rabbi Wasserlauf suffered from an illness and was hospitalized on a number of occasions. Rabbi Wasserlauf was for many years the head of the "Ahavat Chaim" yeshiva in the Jewish community of Kochav HaShachar in Binyamin. Rabbi Wasserlauf's funeral will take place today at 4:30 pm at the Har Hamenuchot cemetery in Givat Shaul, Jerusalem. The family will sit shiva at the family home on 8 Bekurim St. in the Old City of Jerusalem. Visiting hours: 10:00-1 pm and 4 pm - 10 pm. About five months ago, when Rabbi Wasserlauf felt unwell, his son took him to the hospital and the two were blocked by activists protesting the judicial reform. Minister Wasserlauf described the incident and wrote: "I received a call from father this evening. He sounded confused. He told me he was having severe chest pains. Father has already undergone five catheterizations and had had a heart attack. I rushed to his home and immediately realized that he must be taken to the emergency room. We started driving there since there was no time for an ambulance. Father is sitting next to me and I'm calming him down." "We arrive at Azza Street. Suddenly there is a demonstration. A road block. There is no escape route. The driver honks at the protesters to move. They recognize my car. They start to crowd around me. Father gets stressed. I realize what's going on and go to find a policeman to explain to him that there is a life at stake. The policeman understands. In the meantime, the protesters are looking at the car while shouting. I hear them shouting: "Here is the minister, here is the minister." I only worry about my father being calm. He tries to calm down but doesn't succeed very much. The police open the checkpoint and we quickly drive from there to Shaare Zedek," he recounts. Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir eulogized the late leader: "I have known Rabbi Issachar for many years. A great educator, a huge lover of Israel who saw everyone in a positive light, and a true leader. I talked to him this week and felt his encouragement all the way to Cyprus. "Sending my support to the dear Wasserlauf family and embracing my dear brother Yitzhak in a warm hug - may his father's memory be for a blesssing."
