[Donate link below.] The heavens wept and the quiet solitude of Shabbos was shattered as news surfaced of the bloodthirsty terrorist attack in Itamar, Israel on March 11, 2011 that claimed the lives of Rabbi Ehud and Ruth Fogel and three of their children, 11-year-old Yoav, four-year-old Eldad, and three-month old Hadas. The only survivors of this barbaric attack were the Fogels’ 12-year-old daughter, who returned home from a Shabbat oneg to be victimized by the horrific scene, and two younger brothers, age 6 and 2, whose lives were spared, though irrevocably altered, as they slept through their family’s darkest hour.
Assuredly, words are incapable of capturing the feelings of rage, sorrow and helplessness that consume the Jewish community at a time like this. Try as we might to cope with our collective despair, our mandate in the wake of such incomprehensible tragedies must be to rally to the care of the innocent victims. Even as the leadership of the Orthodox Union deafens the world with a fierce cry for justice, we beseech our brothers and sisters to join us in expressing solidarity and support for the innocent victims by contributing to the OU’s Victims of Terrorism Fund.
The Jewish community is forever committed to care for its own and the time will yet come when the sorrow and mourning we share will be transformed into gladness and light.
May the Fogel family and all Israel be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
To make an online donation, to www.ou.org/terrorfund, select a gift amount and click the “Donate” button. To make a donation by mail, kindly send a check to the Orthodox Union at 11 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10004. The check should be made out to the Orthodox Union with “OU Victims of Terrorism Fund” listed on the memo line.
{Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}
