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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: October 4, 2006 |
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The Jewish community of New York city has announced a $9.3 million donation to the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shemona, battered by rockets during this summer's war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah, according to a statement released Tuesday.
The donation from the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York will go to programs for children and elderly residents of Kiryat Shemona, next to Israel's border with Lebanon, the UJA said in the statement. The money will also fund a trauma center and pay to bring volunteers from abroad to help renovate bomb shelters, the statement said.
Hezbollah fired nearly 4,000 rockets at Israel's north during the monthlong conflict, displacing around 300,000 people and forcing hundreds of thousands more into bomb shelters. The war left 120 Israeli soldiers and 39 civilians dead. In Lebanon, more than 850 people were killed, most of them civilians, according to official figures.
Kiryat Shemona, a town of about 22,000 just across the border from Lebanon, was a main target of rockets and suffered considerable damage.
The contribution is part of $300 million pledged by American Jews to help Israel recover from the war, according to Michael Jankelowitz, a spokesman for the Jewish Agency, a non-governmental Israeli organization that deals with the Diaspora.
"This war has been a major catalyst in getting Jews to stand behind Israel," Jankelowitz said.
During the war, donations from Jewish communities abroad paid for the installation of air conditioners and televisions in bomb shelters in northern Israel and for vacations for Israelis in the line of fire. Since the war ended with a U.N. cease-fire on August 14, donations have funded scholarships for university students called up for army reserve duty and grants helping small businesses recoup their losses. |
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