Ultra-Orthodox Jews at a funeral in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem:
Israeli police say they are searching for a young New Jersey religious student who went missing during a hike in a forest outside Jerusalem last week.
Twenty-three-year-old yeshiva student Aaron Sofer of Lakewood, New Jersey, has been missing since Friday when he went on a hike with a friend in the Jerusalem Forest.
Israeli police spokesman Miki Rosenfeld said Tuesday that police have launched an extensive search for Sofer, who is an ultra-Orthodox student at a yeshiva - a Jewish religious school.
Rosenfeld says police are pursuing all avenues in their investigation, including "nationalistic motives," a phrase related to the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Earlier, New Jersey politicians called for more help from both the US and Israeli governments in the search for Sofer.