WJR launches urgent appeal to aid hurricane victims in Haiti
WORLD JEWISH Relief has launched an emergency appeal to help victims of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti.
Morethan1,000peoplediedandtens of thousands were displaced from their homes after the hurricane struck the Caribbean island last week.
WJR is calling for donations to help provide food, water and emergency shelters, as well as hygiene kits to combat cholera.
Paul Anticoni, the charity’s chief executive, said: “We are proud to lead the Jewish community’s response to international disasters. On the High Holy Days we recite the Unetaneh Tokef: ‘who will live and who will die; who will die at their predestined time and who before their time; who by water and who by fire’. These words are particularly apposite for the people of Haiti today.”
WJR worked in Haiti after the earthquake in 2010, providing 100,000 people with humanitarian support and setting up mobile health clinics.
The charity acknowledged that launching the appeal would distract donors’ attention from its annual Rosh Hashanah fund-raising campaign, which this year seeks cash to repair the homes of 252 Jewish families in Ukraine and Moldova.
Richard Verber, WJR head of external affairs said: “Our supporters are so generous, particularly at this time of year. We thought long and hard before asking them to donate again for Haiti.
“But once the flood waters had receded and we could see the damage caused by the hurricane, we knew immediately we had a moral obligation to act, even if it will impact negatively on our Rosh Hashanah appeal. ”
The Haiti appeal has received cross communalsupport,withalldenominations urging members to donate.
Chief Rabbi Mirvis said: “We extend our heartfelt prayers for the thousands of victims of this disaster and for the wellbeing of those who might yet be affected.”
Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism, called on the community to give adding that it was a “obligation not a choice.”
Support came from Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, Senior Rabbi of Masorti Judaism, Rabbi Danny Rich, Senior Rabbi and chief executive of Liberal Judaism, and Rabbi Joseph Dweck, Senior Rabbi of S&P Sephardi Community.