By Deborah Ashin , JTNews Correspondent
Imagine emigrating to a new country – a place where you barely speak the language, have no relatives, no friends, and very little money. Then add the horrifying experience of becoming the victim of a terrorist attack. This nightmarish scenario is a reality for many immigrants in Israel. Isolated and alone, they often don’t know what to do or where to turn.
There, however, is some hope, some of which comes from Mercer Island’s Conservative Congregation Herzl-Ner Tamid, which has “adopted” these four Israel families whose lives were shattered by suicide bombers. Working with a Tel-Aviv-based volunteer organization called SELAH (the Hebrew acronym for Aid to Immigrants in Crisis), the synagogue’s Israel Affairs Committee is providing both financial and emotional support to these families.
Herzl’s “Adopt-a-Family” program started with one family – the Pensos – in October 2002. Severely injured in a suicide bus bombing, Shabtai Penso suffered both physically and emotionally. Since he was no longer able to work, he also faced financial hardships.
The committee’s co-chair David Landsman, the driving force behind the Adopt-a-Family program, coordinated the temple’s fundraising and also called the Penso family at least once a week for over a year.
Today, Landsman reports the Pensos are doing better: Shabtai, a filmmaker, has gone back to work, although his right arm is permanently damaged and he still suffers emotionally. The family no longer receives financial support from Herzl but Landsman occasionally calls to say hello. For Landsman, working with the Pensos was an incredibly meaningful and effective way to make a difference
“The idea of helping families directly really resonated with me. Anyone who has met or talked to these families is very touched,” he says, adding that the world forgets about victims who continue to struggle with their emotional and physical damage. Since establishing the program, Herzl’s congregation has raised over $40,000 to help families directly affected by terrorism.
Based on their positive experience with the Pensos, Landsman and the committee decided to expand its program, choosing to work with SELAH because of its focus on people who need the most help in Israel.
“Native Israelis know how to work the system,” Landsman explains “but immigrants often have trouble accessing social services.”
Sid and Margaret Weiner, Herzl members who had previously worked with SELAH – became actively involved in the program, calling the new families and offering friendship and support. Last March, the Weiners met each of the families during a visit to Israel. What they saw was sad, yet hopeful.
“We feel the Adopt-a-Family program is one of the finest things Herzl has ever done….it is the finest tzedakah a synagogue can get involved in,” says Sid Weiner, an 85-year-old Mercer Island resident. “It gets the congregation in touch with the horrors of war and allows them to do some good and to directly help people who have experienced a terrorist-related tragedy.”
Over the past two decades, Sid has been instrumental in bringing thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
Communicating through translators, the Weiners spent time with each family. Before their visit, the Weiners spoke to the Solomonovs weekly; finally meeting them was like an emotional family reunion.
“They now are looking to the future with confidence, and Herzl has been responsible for salvaging their lives,” Sid reports. “When we first made contact, they were out of funds and barely had enough money for food.”
Herzl’s funding, which covered some of Serge’s surgeries, helped the Solomonovs keep their apartment, allowing their two sons to remain at their current school. It also provided support for their second son’s Bar Mitzvah.
The Weiners, who lived in Israel in the 1970s, also met with Ethiopian immigrant Baruch Desta and his wife, Bracha. Their visit with the 30-year-old father of four was encouraging but also heartbreaking.
“He lives in constant fear of having a seizure,” Weiner says. “you can see the fear in his face.”
Desta has since purchased a computer so he can work at home. Other funds are helping improve the Destas’ apartment to accommodate his disabilities.
Visiting the Terachovs was especially poignant for the Weiners. The Terachovs, an older couple from Russia, are raising their three young granddaughters. Yelena, the girls’ mother, was killed in a terrorist attack. One month later, their father died in a fire. With Herzl’s assistance, the family was able to move from their small one-bedroom apartment into a larger home.
Meeting with Faina Dorfman, whose only child was killed in the Dolphinarium bombing in 2001, was extremely emotional. The Weiners describe her courage in going on and her dream of creating a museum exhibit to honor the memory of the young people who died in the attack. With Hertz’s assistance, she is becoming self-sufficient and able to work on the exhibit.
“All of the families are so appreciative of the opportunity to talk to people about their situation. And they are especially pleased to have interest shown from Americans,” Sid says. “They hate to take the contributions…this is not their style, but they need it to survive.”
Sid also reports on the critical need for fluent Hebrew- and Russian-speaking volunteers in the United States to call these and other families being assisted by SELAH.
Sid is especially supportive of SELAH, which has helped over 10,000 individuals in crisis since it was established in 1993. This countrywide network of volunteers specifically supports new immigrants to Israel, and, according to Sid, 100 percent of contributions go directly to families. The Weiners hope that other congregations in Seattle will consider developing similar Adopt-a-Family programs. Says Margaret Weiner, “There are so many families who need help.”
For more information about Congregation Herzl-Ner Tamid’s Adopt-a-Family program, contact Dave Landsman at [email protected].