Early this morning Rabbi Shmuel Koppel the Chabad Rabbi of Otago, New Zealand gave an exclusive interview in New York to VIN News.

Rabbi Koppel who is visiting the U.S., speaks about the effects of the earthquake has had on the Jewish community.

Meanwhile Haaretz is reporting today that Thirty Israelis in New Zealand remain unaccounted for, Israel’s consul in Wellington, Teddy Poplinger, said yesterday. He said there is particular concern for three or four of them who were seen in Christchurch at the time of the Tuesday’s earthquake.

“We have a list of Israelis in the area, but we believe most of them were not in Christchurch at the time of the earthquake. We mainly want to make sure that they all contact their families,” Poplinger said.

“We are trying with the authorities’ help to locate three or four Israelis who were in town when the quake hit,” he added.