Israeli soldier Monique Goldwasser was not expected to live
after a Palestinian bus driver deliberately struck her and other soldiers while
they waited at a bus stop on Feb. 14, 2001.
“I thought, ‘If Monique lives, I’ll become the voice and
face of all victims of terror in Israel,'” her mother, Sharon Evans, vowed.
Evans founded Adopt-a-Family, a project of the Coalition
Against Terror, a nonprofit organization that matches Jewish organizations
worldwide. As terrorism in Israel reaches an all-time high, Los Angeles
communities have found that adopting victims of terror and their families has
allowed them to support Israelis both financially and emotionally.
Stephen S. Wise’s Young Congregation raised thousands of
dollars for Goldwasser’s recovery and has kept in touch with her. After 17
operations, the former dancer, whose left leg is paralyzed, came to Los Angeles
with Evans to tell her story and walk in the 5K Walk (3.3-mile) portion of the
Los Angeles Marathon on March 2 with her benefactors.
Members of the Young Congregation and StandWithUs, a
pro-Israel advocacy group, joined her in the walk.
While her limp is noticeable, Goldwasser’s radiant smile,
sparkling eyes and positive outlook downplay her handicap. “I never thought I’d
be able to do something like this walk,” she said.
Around the city, communities treat their adoptees like one
of their own.
Rifka Ben Daniel, director of Judaic studies at Abraham
Joshua Heschel Day School West in Agoura, contacted the Adopt-a-Family program
last year; the school raised nearly $20,000 last April through a jog-a-thon and
was able to adopt three Israeli families. Throughout the academic year,
students send gifts and cards to the families and call them on their birthdays.
Ben Daniel is in contact with all three families, offering emotional support
whenever it is needed.
“It empowers the children to think that they can help
somebody in Israel,” said Ben Daniel, who met all three families when she visited
Jerusalem last December.
Across town, students at Maimonides Academy in West Los
Angeles adopted the Hadad family, who lost their wife and mother in a bus
bombing in Haifa. The students raised $5,000 so that the father could buy a car
to take his two young children to school.
“We were hoping [the students] would feel connected to some
of the victims in Israel and know they are directly helping these children,”
said Marlene Kahan, one of the school’s PTA presidents. To reinforce the
emotional connection, the school raised money to fly the father and the two
children to Los Angeles for Passover this year. While they are here, they will
spend time with different Maimonides families.
The Young Israel of Century City was the first shul in the United
States to participate in Adopt-a-Family. Rabbi Elazar Muskin and his
congregation raised more than $40,000 for the Har-Sinai family in Susiya.
Muskin has led three missions to Israel to visit the Har-Sinais, whose husband
and father was murdered by terrorists.
“When you meet with [the family] in person and they know who
[you] are, it makes an emotional connection,” he said.
Rick Fishbein, the unofficial Los Angeles coordinator of
Adopt-a-Family, helps the 20-30 Israeli families adopted by Los Angeles
residents communicate with their benefactors.
Through the Wexner Heritage Foundation, a nationwide Jewish
leadership group, Fishbein and his Los Angeles Wexner counterparts have adopted
a family whose teenage daughter was injured in the Ben Yehuda Promenade
bombing. In addition to supporting the family, Fishbein spends two to three
hours each week talking to various Israeli adoptive families by telephone.
“It’s very therapeutic for the victims to talk to someone
who is not a part of the drama,” he said.
For more information on Adopt-a-Family, e-mail info@cat2002.org or contact Rifka Ben Daniel at (818) 707-2365.
