The Bostoner Rebbe, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz, passed away at Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem on Sabbath. The funeral will leave his study hall at Har Nof in Jerusalem at 9:30 pm Saturday evening.

He was 88. In the past week, his sons were called to Israel after his health deteriorated. His followers held numerous prayers for his health in the past few days.

Video: Rebbe Interviewed by IsraelNN During IDF Cast Lead Operation:

The Bostoner Rebbe visited Gush Katif before the expulsion of the Jews who lived there. At the time he came out strongly against the plan to destroy and abandon Gush Katif, saying that “it is unthinkable that a nation that has been through the Holocaust and survived as an ember saved from the fire, will have to suffer an additional burden of edicts that weigh down heavily upon the citizen, or do him actual harm in his own country – edicts that say determine where he may not settle.”

Video: Rebbe Visits Gush Katif

He joined other rabbis in determining that the Torah forbids uprooting a Jew from his land. “The transfer will lead to an increase in the Arabs' 'appetite' and these steps could bring more disasters upon Israel,” he warned.

In BaKehila Magazine, he was asked about the connection between the Disengagement and the Second Lebanon War. “This guilt is doubled,” he said. “We see today the damage brought about by our exit from Gaza. If Gaza were in our hands today, the army would have more possibilities and it could defeat terror more easily. Now they are fighting against us from two fronts, north and south. Something absurd and infuriating happened here. With our own hands we prepared the ground for a situation in which the enemies of Israel would have the upper hand. We went and gave the Gaza although they did not want it. They said in advance that they would continue to fight Israel even after the retreat. This is complete madness that cannot be understood.”