JERUSALEM – Four Jewish Israelis were killed when gunmen opened fire on the car they were riding in at the entrance to Kiryat Arba, near Hebron.

Tuesday night’s attack in the west bank comes on the eve of the opening of peace talks in Washington between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

NEW YORK – A Jewish woman from Fair Lawn died in a plane crash in Nepal on her 30th birthday.

Irina Shekhets reportedly traveled to Nepal on a spiritual journey and was heading to a hiking trip to a Mount Everest base camp when the 15-seat, twin-engine plane crashed Aug. 23 about 50 miles south of Kathmandu. Fourteen people were killed, including four Americans.

Shekhets was a graduate of Brooklyn College Law School and recently had taken the bar exam. She was on leave from her job as an analyst for JP Morgan Chase.

Volunteers from the ZAKA International Rescue Unit left Israel Monday night to assist in the recovery and identification of Shekhets’ badly charred remains.

The decision to send a team was made in cooperation with Chabad House in Katmandu, which is coordinating the recovery efforts with local authorities, and the Israeli Foreign Office’s situation room, which assisted the team in obtaining the necessary visas.

Israeli backpackers will join the ZAKA volunteers in their search of the crash site.

JTA

Andrew Douglas Stolz was born on June 17 at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston to Jennie and Marc Stolz of Livingston. He weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and was 19 inches long. He joins a brother, Benjamin “Ben,” 2. Their grandparents are Fran and Rich Rotman of Mount Laurel and Ruth and Joe Stolz of Paramus. The great-grandparents are Diana and Harlan Greenberg of Mount Laurel, Sydney and the late Ida Rotman of Revere, Mass., the late Helen and Rolf Feder of Teaneck, and the late Mollie and Morris Stolz of Jersey City.

Mazal tov to Temple Beth Rishon of Wyckoff’s 13 Florence Melton Adult Mini-School graduates, Stacey Frenkel, Warren Kaufman, Evelyn Meier, Gail and Mark Niederman, Judy Opper, Sharon Rubin, Ruth and Len Stern, Cyrile Wilson, Lydia and Jack Zakim, and Ian Zimmerman, pictured with Cantor Ilan Mamber, front, second from left. A ceremony was held on June 9. The Melton School, a project of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, includes study about Jewish history, laws, beliefs, practices, and ideas. The next session will begin on Oct. 11 at Temple Beth Rishon.

Jacob Asher Frankel was born on July 12 to Maria and Aaron Frankel. He weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 20 inches long. Jacob Asher, who joins a brother, Ethan, is named for his maternal great-grandfather and paternal great-great-grandfather. His grandparents are Raisa and Isaac Fox, and Etta and Martin Frankel.

Helen Walkes, née Gordon, 94, of Westfield, formerly of Jersey City, died on July 31 at Overlook Hospital in Summit.

Born in Jersey City, she retired 25 years ago from her position as deputy clerk for Jersey City.

Predeceased by her husband, Sol, she is survived by a son, Bruce (and his wife, Bonnie) of Atlanta, Ga.; a daughter, Susan Koslowsky (and her husband, Dr. Seymour) of Westfield; a brother, Irwin Gordon, of California; five grandchildren, Lori, Jay, Marc, Beth, and Amy; and 11 great-grandchildren, Jake, Max, Lily, Sophie, Jack, Luke, Ava, Maya, Gracie, Joshua, and Alyssa.

Arrangements were by Eden Memorial Chapels in Fort Lee.

Ady Skarnik, 86, of Boca Raton, Fla., formerly of Wayne, died on Aug. 2.

Before retiring, he was a sales manager for Jersey Paper Company in New Brunswick.

Predeceased by his first wife, Ida Skarnik, and by his second wife’s son, Larry Schwartz, he is survived by his second wife, Marlene Skarnik; his children, Michael Skarnik (and his wife, Debbie Pastor) of East Rutherford; Sandy Phillips (and her husband, Jonathan) of Wyckoff, and Chuck Schwartz of Redondo Beach, Calif.; and one grandson, Marc Phillips, of Wyckoff.

Donations may be sent to Hospice by the Sea, 1531 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, FL 33486 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Arrangements were by Louis Suburban Chapel in Fair Lawn.

Dr. Bernard F. Ross, 83, of Mahwah, formerly of Paramus, died on July 29.

A dentist in Paramus, he was an Army Air Forces of World War II veteran and a longtime member of the Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Lions Club, and Board of Health, all in Paramus. An avid recreational flier, he was a major in the Civil Air Patrol and the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary. After moving to Mahwah, Dr. Ross served on the Township of Mahwah’s Board of Health and Housing Commission, and was chair of its Planning Board. He was a member of the Jewish Community Center of Paramus, where he served as a vice president.

Predeceased by his parents, Kate and Frank Ross, and his twin brother, Dr. Howard R. Ross, he is survived by his wife, Mickey; a daughter, Beth Groeneman (and her husband, Sid); a son, David (and his wife, Ellen); three grandchildren, Adam (and his wife, Jackie), Samantha, and Michael; and a great-grandson, Sean.

Arrangements were by Robert Schoem’s Menorah Chapel in Paramus.