Yisroel Meir Gabbai

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Rabbi Yisroel Meir Gabbai (b. 1950s) is a Yerushalmi hasid who travels the world to locate and restore Jewish cemeteries and kevarim (gravesites) of Torah notables.

A resident of Israel, he has a French passport which allows him to enter countries hostile to Israel, such as Syria.

His accomplishments include:

• the identification of the grave of Rabbi Shalom Shabazi in Yemen
• the identification of the grave of Rabbi Refael Katzin, nineteenth-century chief rabbi of Aleppo, in Aleppo, Syria
• the placement of a plaque at the burial site of Rashi and other Rishonim to alert visitors that an unmarked square in the city of Troyes, France is in fact part of an ancient cemetery

Although he travels to countries hostile to Israel, Rabbi Gabbai makes no secret of his mission and dresses in full Yerushalmi regalia, including flat-topped, wide-brim hat, hand-knitted yarmulke, short pants and hasidic rekel (long coat), in addition to his full beard and payot.

[edit] References

• Growise, Avraham. Our Man in Damascus: Rabbi Yisrael Meir Gabbai is the first non-Syria chareidi to visit in half a century, according to the leader of Syria's dwindling Jewish community. Hamodia, Israel News, May 7, 2008, pp. A26-27.