The Israeli man who drowned in Uman on Rosh Hashana is Eli Eliah, a 19-year-old yeshiva student from Netanya, authorities announced on Sunday.
Eliah drowned last Thursday while taking part in a tashlich ceremony in the river that runs through the town where Rabbi Nachman of Breslov is buried.
"He was in the water with his brother when he disappeared," said Moti Bokjin, a spokesperson for the emergency group Zaka. "Our volunteers ran there and searched for him for 45 minutes. Finally, an ex Israeli navy seal found him at a depth of ten meters but it was too late. Resuscitation efforts failed and we had to declare his death."
The body was held in a refrigerating van over Shabat until it could be taken to Kiev en route to Israel.
About 32,000 worshipers arrived in the Ukrainian town to spend the Jewish new year by the grave site of the famous sage, an all-time record.
Bokjin said no violent incidents took place unlike the previous year when several riots broke occurred and one Israeli was stabbed to death.
