Support for Israeli soldiers continues to pour in from around the world. On Tuesday, for example, a group of hospitalized troops was showered with a gift that young people everywhere appreciate—the gift of technology.
Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie, co-director of Congregation Beth Meir HaCohen, North County Chabad Center in Yorba Linda, Calif., together with members of the Orange County Jewish community, organized a campaign to raise money for iPads to be distributed to severely wounded soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces. And then he flew to Israel to deliver them.
The rabbi joined with staff of the Chabad Terror Victims Project and Professor Yehuda Adler, chairman of the Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv, to bring 40 iPads to the wounded.
“The spirit of the soldiers is amazing,” says Eliezrie. “It was such an honor to meet these Jewish heroes. They were deeply touched that Jews in the United States care so much about them.”
He reports that the soldiers and their families were overjoyed to receive the gifts, which will help them stay in touch with family and friends, as well as offer online programs to assist them through what in some cases is going to be long and painful hospitalizations and rehabilitation.
A mother of one of the wounded soldiers expressed her feelings to the rabbi and to Yossi Swerdlov, a representative of CTVP: “On behalf of my son, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart—for your kindness, your warmth, your gifts and your love. G‑d bless all the soldiers! They should be home soon. Thank you.”
CTVP staff and volunteers have fanned out through Israel during the three-week conflict, going to bomb shelters, particularly in the hard-hit south, to bring toys, treats and activities to children to help take their minds off the fear and anxiety associated with the conflict. They have also been working on the frontlines, bringing soldiers packages of food, toiletries and other essentials, as well as enabling them to lay tefillin, which soldiers have said brings them great comfort as they face battle.
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