What? you ask is the “coincidence”? A religious community attacked by missiles that somehow escaped the defenses that spared Netanya, Ramat HaSharon, and…… defense by the Iron Dome, and the other inventions that the world is amazed by! That other countries want also! Were they asleep at the monitor? I don’t know the statistics of devastating loss in other cities but this seems very localized like in Arad, also another religious community!
As the smoke clears the precise statistics present a frightening reality: Instead of the original count of 82 families, there are 125 families, among them 673 Bnei Brak residents, who are left without a roof over their heads.
Kupat Ha'ir has set up an emergency operations center to respond to the immediate needs of the families following conversations with them upon receiving the data from the social services department and home front command.
The maggid HaRav Yisrael Meir Shushan shlit"a stood facing the devastation and described the unimaginable pain of one family out of the many:
"Dear brothers, look at the destruction and the devastation.
Just think what a father and mother with 14 children went through.
The little girl Rivkie cried, 'Ima, where are the new pajamas you bought me for Pesach?'
There is nothing! Nothing! Nothing!"
***
B”H the families are alive. What a miracle! But where are they sleeping? Where are the living? What are the children experiencing in their tender world?
A missile hitting one's home is very emotionally traumatic, yet the financial damage as well is much greater than most people would think* The idea that the government always covers the costs of such damages is untrue* 82 Bnei Brak families are in disastrous situations and need help urgently
All of Eretz Yisrael was under fire, continually suffering missile attacks, but it seems that Bnei Brak (next to Arad) received the greatest brunt of them and suffered the greatest damage in the 'Sha'agat HaAri' war. The data received from the Home Front Command (Pikud HaOref) and from Bnei Brak's municipal Social Services Department is enough to prevent the Gedolei Torah and Chassidus from sleeping at night, as more and more chareidi families are discovered to be in terribly desperate situations after Iranian missiles hit their homes.
As of Monday, the 19th of Nissan, 82 families from Bnei Brak had been evacuated from their homes, finding themselves staying in temporary residences for the duration of the Yom Tov; some of them were evacuated on Yom Tov itself.
These families, whose lives were upended in one terrifying moment, were divided into three painful categories:
The first group, consisting of about fifty families, were permitted to enter their homes and remove some necessities. These families don't require a tremendous amount of assistance; they are housed temporarily in hotels and in rented apartments which are indeed funded by the government, however upon investigation it was discovered that they need short-term assistance getting organized in their temporary homes. They need help with transportation, buying food and other basic products which they are currently lacking. As per the decision of the Kupat Ha'ir Rabbanim, these families are slated to receive a one-time grant which will stand them on their feet during this strenuous time which is so difficult for them.
But there's a second group which has suffered even more. About twenty-five families were not permitted to even enter their homes at all, or their homes were completely demolished, including closets of clothing and possessions they'd acquired during the course of their lives. These families have an acute need for basic articles of clothing –including clothes for the entire family for weekday and Shabbos, basic hygiene products and the hundreds of other essential items a person has in his home. These Jews left their homes with literally just the clothes on their backs- and sometimes those were only pajamas. Practically every minute they are discovering another essential item they are lacking, and they need urgent assistance to buy essential items, including basic wardrobes. For the majority of these articles they are currently not entitled to receive government funding, and they are hoping for assistance from us, their fellow Jews around the world.
The third group, numbering about five or six families, had residences or partial residences which were not recognized by the government. As far as the government law is concerned, their destroyed homes did not exist at all, and the owners are not eligible for any compensation for the apartment or for the part of it which was 'illegal.' For them, the trauma is doubly great, and they are in need of the maximum amount of help to restore their homes.
In light of these acute situations, Kupat Ha'ir launched a special fund to help all these families in Bnei Brak who were evacuated. According to the instructions of the Gedolei HaDor shlit"a, each person is requested to contribute $410, which is about $5 per each evacuated family, in order to help them get back on their feet after this great trauma and suffering they've undergone, and to show them we are with them in their pain.
It's important to note that this money will be distributed immediately to the families according to need and in consonance with the directives of the Kupat Ha'ir Rabbanim.
To help the 82 Bnei Brak families who were evacuated from their homes, click here>>>
Donations can also be made to Kupat Ha'ir Fund #3378, by phone 1-888-587-2842, or by mailing a check to American Friends of Kupat Ha'ir, 4415 14th Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11219.
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