HaRav Boruch Dov Povarsky, rosh yeshiva in Ponevezh, is to
take the unprecedented step of suspending his shiurim
at the world famous Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak to lead
a fundraising campaign in England for the victims of the
Emmanuel terror attack.
The Rosh Yeshiva will be arriving in London on Sunday at
midday and staying till Monday evening. During his short
stay, he will grace and address two fundraising events to be
held in NW London at the homes of Mr. J. Kohn and Mr. S.
Greenman.
More than four months have passed since that dreadful
Chanukah evening when terrorists ambushed a bus near the
religious town of Emmanuel. Twenty-two children lost parents,
parents lost children, and a number of the survivors remain
seriously wounded. Unfortunately, many more tragic attacks
have since taken place in other parts of Eretz Yisroel
resulting in the death of many Jews and injuring countless
others, but the suffering and trauma of the victims of the
Emmanuel attack are not reduced by sharing their terrible
anguish with many others.
Each life is an entire world, and every father, mother, son
and daughter lost in recent terrorist attacks is
irreplaceable. However, many of the victims of the Emmanuel
attack are suffering even more than other victims of terror
and it is for this reason that the Rosh Yeshiva is
undertaking this visit to England.
Emmanuel is a small religious town, many of whose low-income
residents were brought there by the low-cost housing and
employment opportunities in a pleasant new religious
development. Unfortunately, with the downturn in the economy,
particularly since the outbreak of the intifadah last year,
economic conditions in the town have deteriorated and poverty
is widespread. The loss of the head of the family for those
already suffering deprivation and severe debt comes as a
double blow.
Each family affected is a tragedy on its own with each
individual family member affected in a different way. One
victim had suffered severe facial injuries in a terrorist
attack a year before his death and had undergone ten
operations as a result. Unable to work due to his medical
condition, his family was already in a desperate financial
straits before his tragic murder.
Serious psychological scars have left surviving spouses
unable to cope with their responsibilities to their grieving
children, leaving the children with almost no parental
support in their despair.
A special emergency fund has been set up, administered by
leading rabbonim in Eretz Yisrael, to address the crucial
problems faced by Emmanuel's victims and their families. This
fund hopes to provide a regular income to the widows and
orphans and to those whose parents are unable to work, having
been injured themselves or being involved in the care of
injured family members. The fund will ensure the availability
of expert medical and psychological care as needed and for
the financial provision of the orphans when they reach
marriageable age. A conservative estimate of the funds
required is $4,000,000.
Unfortunately, public appeals have so far raised less than a
quarter of the sum. A number of fundraising meetings are to
be hosted by leading philanthropists in London at which the
Ponevezh Rosh Yeshiva will deliver inspiring addresses on the
duty of Torah Jewry in England and around the world to come
to the immediate aid of Emmanuel's families with meaningful
sums, to try to heal their physical and emotional wounds and
to enable them to resume some kind of normal life.
The NW London Committee for the Victims of Emmanuel headed by
Rabbi Chanoch Ehrentreu (rosh beth din, London Beth
Din), Rabbi Chayim Halpern (rov Beth Hamedrash Divrei
Chayim), Mr. J. Pearlman, Mr. S. Greenman and Mr. B. Dunner,
will be actively involved in the allocation of the funds
raised and ensure that they reach those who need them
most.
The following week a similar campaign will take place in
Stamford Hill where the askonim are planning to bring
one of the leading gedolim to lead it. A reception
will be hosted by one of the local balei batim.
