Donald Trump visits Lubavitcher Rebbe's grave in honor of October 7

Former US president Donald Trump is visited the Ohel, the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, on Monday in honor of the one year anniversary of the October 7 massacre, Chabad sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post. 

Chabad confirmed that Secret Service personnel had been on scene for several days now securing the area, located at the Old Montefiore cemetery in the borough of Queens in New York City. 

Trump was accompanied by Yael, Adi and Roy Alexander, parents and brother of Edan Alexander, who is currently being held hostage by terrorists in the Gaza Strip; Jerry Wartski, a survivor of the Auschwitz death camp; and two Jewish college students facing antisemitism on campus. 

This comes on the one year anniversary of the October 7 massacre, which saw 1,200 people killed and hundreds more taken hostage in southern Israel by Hamas terrorists, kicking off Israel's still ongoing war in Gaza. 

Why visit the Lubavitcher Rebbe's grave?

The Ohel is considered a holy site by many Jews, particularly hassidic adherents of Chabad. Approximately 50,000 people - both Jews and non-Jews - visit the grave every year in honor of the anniversary of Schneerson's death. 

Several political figures have also visited the grave, including Trump's own daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner in 2016. Recently, two other notable world leaders - President Javier Milei of Argentina and Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania - have both visited the Ohel.