Kidnapped Chabad rabbi released after four days' captivity in Ecuador

Kidnapped Chabad emissary Rabbi Tomer Rotem was released on Thursday after being held captive for four days in the Ecuadorean capital of Quito. The kidnappers, who belonged to a criminal gang lead by an Israeli with a criminal record, demanded a $500,000 ransom for the rabbi. Ecuadorean security forces located the building in which the rabbi was being held and on Thursday surrounded it, prompting the kidnappers to release the rabbi.

Rabbi Rotem has been operating as a Chabad emissary in Ecuador for the past six years. He lives in Quito with his wife and four children.

The kidnapping took place after Rotem received a phone call from a local Jewish man who asked for “Jewish services.” They agreed to meet, and when the rabbi arrived, he was kidnapped and held for ransom, with his kidnappers demanded $500,000 for his release.

After he was released, Rotem said he knew the Israeli leader of the gang who kidnapped him. “The Chabad Center is open to all Jews, and our hearts reach out willingly to help any Jew in need,” he said. “Unfortunately, the kidnapper took advantage of our good will for years, and used us as a cover for his criminal activities, without our knowledge of such. We helped him, sometimes even beyond our means. We listened to him and gave him a warm family, food, a place to sleep, and more. As the Chabad Center grew, he decided to extort us through enticement and promises, and when those didn't work, he tried horrendous false accusations, direct threats, and slander against our good name, all for one simple reason: money ... As soon as we realized what was going on, we severed our contact with him.”

Rotem's wife Rivka said: “In the evening, I received a phone call from an anonymous person, who said, in an evil tone, that he had kidnapped my husband. It turns out that they kidnapped him for ransom, and news of the incident quickly spread throughout the Jewish community in Ecuador. South America has its share of kidnappings. As soon as people found out, many volunteered to help free Tomer, which wasn't easy to do and required extreme caution. Any little mistake could have brought the incident to a tragic end. The tension was tremendous, especially since we knew we were dealing with criminals who did not value life.”

Rivka said that her husband was physically and mentally tortured by people “who had no problem telling him what they would do to him [if they didn't get the money they demanded].”

“These are people who get the money they want, and then bury the person they kidnapped anyway,” she said. “They had all kinds of tools and were waiting for the right time to use them. We received phone calls threatening us if we went to the police and refused to give them $500,000. We had no idea what to do, and our seven-year-old son constantly recited passages from the book of Psalms, praying for his father to return safely.

“Phone calls from friends and family all over the world encouraged us. We felt as if we were not alone, and surprisingly we began to notice a change in the kidnappers' tone of voice. They began to speak to us nicely and respect us. The Jewish man among them even agreed to put on tefilin [phylacteries]. As a result of everyone's prayers, and heavenly miracles, they regretted what they did, and gave Tomer a plane ticket so he could return home.”

Rivka said she was grateful that in most such cases, the vicitms did not live to speak about them, but a “miracle” had brought this case to a happy ending.

　

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