Charities launch emergency appeal after Gaza rocket barrage

Israeli charities operating near the Gaza border have appealed to British Jews for money after Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched hundreds of rockets into southern Israel this week.

ORT and Emunah were among the organisations appealing for help with their operations during the worst flare-up in violence since 2014, before a ceasefire was agreed late on Tuesday.

World ORT, a global Jewish educational organisation, lodged its “emergency appeal” for money to build more shelters at its village in Kfar Silver, ten miles from the Gaza border on the outskirts of Ashkelon.

“Our students have only seconds to reach the shelters at the youth village,” said director Avi Ganon. “This is a hard time for the State of Israel. The fundraising is needed for building shelters in Kfar Silver which is critical for saving lives.”

Likewise therapists from Emunah said they had been working “round the clock” in the areas hardest hit by the violence, such as Sderot, where it operates the Sarah Ronson Crisis and Intervention Centre.

“Our therapists are working overtime to support clients, often at the cost of leaving their own families,” said the centre’s director Tami Beck.

“These are sleepless nights. People are living in in fear, they worry about tomorrow. One of our clients is a mother of seven, the rock of her family, but last night she burst into tears, saying she just didn’t have the strength for another round [of violence].”

Emunah also operates the Neve Landy children’s village in Even Shmuel, providing support to the children, who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as day centres that were closed earlier this week.

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