January 20, 2009
by Debra Rubin
An Israeli schoolgirl waits for a ride in a makeshift concrete bomb shelter
in the besieged town of Sderot, Photo by Brian Hendler/JTA
The Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County has launched a drive to raise $53,000 to send 1,000 traumatized children from Sderot and other regions in southern Israel out of the area for a day.
The Freedom to Play campaign was officially launched Jan. 12 during a federation-sponsored rally in support of Israel held at the East Brunswick Jewish Center.
Representatives holding baskets walked through the crowd of 600 collecting envelopes. “We have enough money for 278 kids, so we’re already more than a quarter of the way there,” said federation executive director Gerrie Bamira on Jan. 13.
The program is being run through the Jewish Agency for Israel. It sends children on day trips to areas where they can enjoy themselves without the fear and anxiety brought on by warning sirens signaling missile attacks.
Bamira said the idea for the drive came during a Jan. 7 conference call convened by United Jewish Communities, the umbrella organization of North American federations, when $10 million in emergency aid was committed through the federations.
Middlesex federation president Lee Livingston made a recommendation to the board to initiate the Freedom to Play drive.
“If you have three children, we are asking that you sponsor three children,” said Bamira. “If you have four grandchildren, we are asking you to sponsor four children. We want to personalize this call to action for every parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or human being to take care of children in Israel.”
On a personal note, Bamira said she led a delegation to Sderot in March and found the experience unnerving.
“We spent four hours there, and I cannot imagine living there day in and day out with those sirens going off,” said Bamira. “And worse — watching my grandchildren run for cover every time that loud siren goes off.”
Donations can be made on the federation’s website, by calling 732-432-7711, or by sending a check to the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, with Freedom to Play in the check’s memo line, at 230 Old Bridge Turnpike, South River, NJ 08882.