Please see the following e-mail from The ASSOCIATED: The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore continues to monitor the current events in Israel as Hamas relentlessly fires rockets into our homeland after rejecting an Egyptian cease-fire proposal accepted by Israel earlier this week. Since then, a UN requested five-hour unilateral humanitarian pause was accepted to bring aid into Gaza but ended early as rockets were shot into the Israeli town of Eshkol. Our solidarity with the State of Israel is unwavering and we support Israels right to defend herself. At the forefront of our concern is the safety and wellbeing of those who are living with angst as a result of frequent sounds of rocket fire and Iron Dome interceptions. According to the Israeli government, six million people now live in areas affected by rockets. We have already distributed emergency resources to our sister city of Ashkelon, located eight miles from Gaza and among the southern cities severely affected by a constant barrage of rockets. There have been hundreds of rockets shot into Ashkelon, at least two that caused severe damage to homes and one that severely injured a 16-year-old boy. Through your generous donations to The Associated Annual Campaign, we were able to immediately send financial resources to meet the needs identified by the staff of the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership in Ashkelon. Please continue to send messages of support to our friends in Ashkelon via the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership Facebook page. We are also joining our partner federations around North America to raise additional emergency funds to provide for the needs across Israel. Our overseas partners, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), are providing the following: • Relief for children and families spending countless hours in bomb shelters by delivering supplies for 100 communal bomb shelters in Ashkelon, including arts & crafts, refreshments and specialized workshops and activities. • Emergency grants to families for the immediate financial hardships associated with life under fire (i.e. home repairs, unpaid leave from work, etc.). • Respite camps to offer children time away from incessant rocket fire and related stressors. • Trauma therapy for at-risk populations including new immigrants, children, the elderly and people with disabilities. What can you do to help? • Contribute to The Associateds Israel Emergency Relief Campaign . One hundred percent of dollars contributed will support the efforts listed above and help countless Israelis. • Join us on Monday, July 21 at 7:00 p.m. for a Gathering of Solidarity at the Gordon Center for Performing Arts. Details are available here . • Send a personal card to the children in Ashkelon by emailing Amalia Phillips at the Macks Center for Jewish Education. • Bring color into Israeli bomb shelters by participating in the Rainbow Loom Project on Sunday, July 20 from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. in the Krieger Schecter Day School gymnasium. Contact the event organizers for more information. Supported by the Jewish Volunteer Connection. • Contact your legislators to thank them for their unwavering support of Israels right to defend herself. • Join the Maryland/Israel Development Center to promote trade with Israel and help secure her future. • Post messages of hope and solidarity using the hashtag #BaltimoreStandsWithIsrael and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Am Yisrael Chai! (The people of Israel live!)
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 22:13:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015