"As an Israeli child, I grew
up asking where the world was when we needed them most. As a Jew, I
always knew that I was expected to be there, to help lend a hand. There
is no nation that knows better than us how lethal apathy can be." -Yoav
Bakshi Yevin
[CBN News]
Israelis have launched a grassroots fund-raising campaign to help
Syrian children and other refugee victims of Syria's five-year civil
war. (Photo via CBN News)
Thousands have been left homeless in the
cold after the Russian-backed regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
bombarded the city of Aleppo in recent weeks. More than 100,000 were
killed.
The Jerusalem Post reports that
since the aid campaign began Thursday, Israelis have already donated
more than $100,000 to "Just Beyond the Border" to fund emergency
supplies, including food and medicine for Syrian refugees.
"Hundreds of thousands of children from
war-torn Syria are now facing winter," reads an Israeli flyer. "We will
not stand idly by as the horrors unfold."
For more than 50 years, Syria's
leaders have been among Israel's most hostile enemies, participating in
four wars against the Jewish state. But the Israeli humanitarian
campaign spans all segments of Israeli society, including religious and
secular, Jewish and Muslim.
The initiative began on the mimoona
crowdfunding platform and the aid will be delivered with the assistance
of the Israel Flying Aid Organization.
Yoav Bakshi Yevin, one of the co-founders of "Just Beyond the Borders," told the Post,
"As an Israeli child, I grew up asking where the world was when we
needed them most. As a Jew, I always knew that I was expected to be
there, to help lend a hand. There is no nation that knows better than us
how lethal apathy can be."
Co-organizer Shivi Froman added, "The
decision we made was to take children out of the equation because
children are children and they deserve assistance regardless of how
complex the reality might be."
The Israeli effort comes as the United Nations announced the rescue of 47 children from an orphanage in Aleppo.
The Times of Israel quotes a UNICEF official as saying some of the children were in "critical condition from injuries and dehydration."
Topic: "We Won’t Stand By as Horrors Unfold"—How Israel Is Aiding Syria War Victims
