Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and a dual Israel-American citizen, passed away suddenly at his home on Wednesday of cardiac arrest at the age of 67.
The IFCJ, founded in 1983, has raised monumental sums of money to aid poverty-stricken Jews in Israel and in the Diaspora, particularly those in Eastern Europe and especially those who are survivors of the Holocaust.
Eckstein created the organization to help build bridges between Christians and Jews. He raised more than $1.4 billion over the years, much of it from Evangelical Christians.
The IFJC – Keren L’Yedidut in Hebrew – has provided support for Jews in the form of food and other items, especially around the Jewish holidays, but also provided assistance to enable struggling Ukrainians to come to Israel on aliyah.
Eckstein also provided considerable assistance to Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries, especially in the area of security around Chabad Houses, and around the homes of the emissaries themselves.
The funeral is set to take place Thursday at Eretz HaChaim Cemetery in Har Tuv (near Beit Shemesh) at 1:00 pm. Shiva is to take place at 29 Revadim, Arnona, Jerusalem.
"May Hashem comfort the family with all those who mourn for Zion and Jerusalem.”
No comments:
Post a Comment