Rabbi-Led Charity Puts Biblical Mandate to Comfort Israel’s People Into Practice

November 7, 2017

4 min read

Established by the Israel365 advocacy organization, the Israel Charity Fund (ICF) has a single purpose: giving Israel supporters around the world the opportunity to fulfill the Biblical directive to care for the people of Israel by donating funds and sending goodwill to the victims of Arab and Palestinian terrorism.

Every year, innocent Israelis experience loss and trauma at the hands of fundamentalist Arab terrorists. Lovers of Israel looking for practical ways to support Israeli victims of terror often find themselves at a loss of how to help or where to donate funds.

The ICF works with supporters and friends of Israel around the world to collect and distribute funds directly to individuals, families, and communities across Israel which have been affected by terror attacks, often jumping into action to create emergency campaigns within hours or days of attacks.

“One of the saddest realities of the prophetic return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel has been the incessant terror attacks against innocent Israelis which have been ongoing for decades,” explained Israel365 founder and CEO Rabbi Tuly Weisz to Breaking Israel News.

“While the news of these attacks leaves the world shocked and heartbroken, it is vital to respond by comforting and supporting the terror victims of Israel.”

2017 was a year of several brutal attacks against Israelis in which the ICF leapt into action to provide for the financial needs of terror victims.

Terror struck right at the beginning of the year. On January 8th, four soldiers were killed as a terrorist rammed his truck into a group of soldiers in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem. Sarah Kempler, a female IDF soldier, was among the fifteen soldiers injured in the attack.

The moment before a truck-ramming terror attack in Jerusalem killed four Israeli soldiers. (Screenshot)

Just days later, Rabbi Weisz personally visited Sarah in her home in Samaria. On behalf of the generous donors of the ICF, Rabbi Weisz comforted Sarah on the tragic loss of her friends and comrades and provided her with funds to be used in her rehabilitation process.

In July, the world was appalled by the heinous terrorist attack in which 70-year-old Yosef Salomon was murdered in cold blood along with his adult children Chaya and Elad in their family home in Neve Tzuf.  Elad Salmon left behind a wife and five young orphans.

Words of comfort and hope along with donations for Elad’s widow and children poured into the ICF from around the world. Rabbi Weisz collected condolence messages and donations from the readers of Israel365 and Breaking Israel News and personally delivered them to the family members of the victims.

But in Israel, terrorism is not limited to violence against human beings. Arab terrorists also target the land itself, vandalizing and destroying Jewish farms, fields, and vineyards. While there may be no loss of life in these attacks, Jewish victims and their families suffer tremendous emotional, psychological and financial damage.

In July, Tzviki Struk, a farmer in Israel’s Shiloh valley in Samaria, was devastated to discover that sections of his vineyards had been vandalized by Arab terrorists. Some 2,000 grapevines were violently hacked apart and thrown to the waysides by vandals who infiltrated Struk’s vineyard.

Aron Katsoff, a friend and neighbor of Struk, noted that these types of attacks are becoming more commonplace. Katsoff estimates that a large-scale attack such as this occurs approximately every year to year and a half. While the government will provide some financial compensation to Struk, the amount he will receive will not come close to covering the costs of his loss.

The ICF worked hand-in-hand with Struk to restore his vineyards in the Biblical heartland. Much of the support for Struk came from the desire of donors and Israel supporters world-wide to witness the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy.

Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Shomron; the planters shall plant, and shall have the use thereof. Jeremiah 31:4

“We are living the prophecy of Jeremiah. The people of Israel have returned to the land. Now, we are being attacked by Palestinian terrorists who are trying to uproot us from our land. The more they attack us, the stronger we will become. These attacks will not weaken us, they only fuel us to continue to cultivate our land,” said Struk.

In a similar ‘economic attack’, one beekeeper’s dream to bring to life Israel’s blessing as a land flowing with honey came crashing down when local Arabs broke into her factory, stealing her entire season’s supply of honey.

In mid-August, Arab terrorists broke into Yael Farbstein’s factory in the Jewish community of Kedumim, stealing precious equipment, destroying beehives and causing tremendous damage.

Kedumim Honey’s beehives. (Dvash Kedumim Facebook)

“We went from hive to hive and found nothing but piles of hundreds of thousands of dead bees,” Farbstein told Breaking Israel News. “It broke my heart to see this.”

Though Farbstein and her family were devastated by the attack, they refuse to be defeated by terrorism. “Despite the losses, we are doing our part by increasing our efforts. We need to show them that we are here to stay.”

Thanks to the speedy and efficient work of the ICF, lovers of Israel from around the world were better able to heed the Bible’s commands to provide care and comfort for God’s children in the land of Israel.

“Time and time again the Bible imbues us to do good and run to aid of the needy within our communities,” Rabbi Weisz explained, citing Isaiah.

Learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice; Aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan; Defend the cause of the widow. Isaiah 1:17

“Together, we must continue to support and strengthen Israel’s victims of terror with the knowledge that they have not been forgotten and that they remain in the minds, hearts, and prayers of lovers of Israel around the world,” the rabbi concluded.

 

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