Flying rabbis fight swine flu in Israel with prayers

London, Aug 13 (ANI): A group of ultra-orthodox rabbis and Jewish mystics flew over Israel singing prayers and blowing traditional ram horns in a bid to stop the spread of swine flu.

About 50 people, most of them bearded and cloaked in black, boarded a charter plane and circled the country chanting their prayers.

"The purpose of the flight was to stop the (swine flu) epidemic so that people will not keeping dying from it," the Telegraph quoted Rabbi Yitzhak Basri, one of the participants as telling Yediot Achronot.

About 2,000 cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Israel and five people are known to have died.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised that the government will buy enough of the vaccine, once it is developed, to protect its citizens from the flu. (ANI)