35 Jews still missing in Miami building collapse tragedy
AT LEAST 35 Jewish people, including some with Israeli citizenship, are among those unaccounted for in Surfside, Florida, where a 12-storey building partially collapsed on Thursday last week.
More than 150 residents of the building remain missing and the death toll has now risen to 11 as rescue workers continue searching day and night for possible “miracle” survivors.
Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue officials say they refuse to give up hope and will continue in their “frantic effort” to reach potential air pockets where people could have survived.
Speaking to the media, Miami-Dade County Mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, said: “We’re going to continue and work ceaselessly to exhaust every possible option in our search. The search-andrescue operation continues.”
Surfside features a sizable Jewish community and was, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, home to 2,500 Charedim in 2018.
Kevin Spiegel, whose wife Judy is among the missing, said the area hosts a “very spiritual and religious Jewish community which we’re really connected to.”
Mr Spiegel, who moved into the beachfront condominium five years
The area is home to a very spiritual and religious Jewish community’
ago, also told Sky News that accessing information was “very difficult”. He paid tribute to his wife, saying she was a philanthropist and “the glue in our family” and spoke of “her connection to the UK”.
Israel’s foreign ministry is also monitoring the situation. The Jewish state, alongside Mexico, has deployed an elite rescue crew to assist with round-theclock search efforts that have taken place amid intensive heat and high humidity.
Israeli Diaspora Minister, Nachman Shai and the Consul General of Israel in Miami, Maor Elbaz Starinsky, have both visited the site to express their “heartfelt and diligent full support to the residents of Surfside”.
Jewish groups, meanwhile, leapt into action to support those affected by the building collapse.
The Greater Miami Jewish Federation opened up emergency assistance funds, while members of Hatzala’s local branch were on the scene, supporting the rescue effort.
The nearby Shul of Bal Harbour and the Jewish charity Cadena Foundation were among groups accepting donations to support families affected by the tragedy.
On Saturday night, Israel’s United Hatzalah and the airline company El Al sent a psychotrauma and crisis response team to Miami to support victims and relatives.