U.S. Jewish groups refuse aid to evacuees
Residents expelled from Gaza face 'humanitarian crisis'
Posted: May 23, 2006
1:00 a.m. EasternBy Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.comJERUSALEM – Mainstream American Jewish organizations largely have refused to aid the thousands of Jews evacuated last summer from the Gaza Strip, the majority of whom are unemployed and have yet to find permanent housing, WND has learned.
Leaders from Gush Katif, the former Jewish communities of Gaza, said a series of direct petitions to significant U.S. Jewish organizations in recent months have been fruitless. They outlined a "humanitarian crisis" among the expellees.
"With few exceptions, we have received almost no help from the mainstream Jewish American groups, which grant billions of dollars" said Dror Vanunu, a former Gaza resident and the international coordinator for the Gush Katif Committee, a major charity organization representing the Gaza Jewish refugees.
Refugees 'in desperate need'
Israel in August evacuated its nearly 10,000 Jewish citizens from Gaza. Successive Israeli governments over the years had urged thousands of Israelis to move to Gaza and build communities there. Israel promised the expelled residents compensation packages and aid, much of which – none months later – has yet to arrive. [link]
Prior to their evacuation from Gaza, the vast majority of Gush Katif residents lived in large homes in landscaped communities. Many were farmers, tending to the area's famous, technologically advanced greenhouses that supplied Israel with much of its produce. The Gush Katif unemployment rate was less than 1 percent.
Now, 50 percent of Gaza's Jewish refugees are unemployed, and only 21 percent of former Gush Katif businesses have re-opened. [link]
Almost no assistance for the former Gush Katif residents has been offered by any mainstream American Jewish organization, most of which publicly supported the Gaza withdrawal.
Many U.S. Jewish charities are associated with Jewish federations. They reportedly grant more than $3 billion per year.
Jewish federation leader quits in protest
Until he resigned in February, New Jersey resident Buddy Macy served as a member of the board of trustees and a recording secretary for the Jewish Federation of Greater Clifton-Passaic in New Jersey which belongs to the United Jewish Communities charity network, the most financially endowed Jewish charity group in the U.S.
The UJC reportedly raised over $850 million last year. It is known to set the tone for thousands of Jewish charity organizations nationwide.
Macy told WND he quit his position after more than 25 years of service to protest the UJC's refusal to initiate a campaign fund to help the Gaza Jewish refugees.
"There are thousands of Jews in dire need and the UJC and other mainstream groups with huge endowments are deliberately ignoring the crisis. The situation is absolutely unacceptable," Macy said.
In an e-mail to UJC President Howard Rieger that has been widely circulated among Jewish circles on the Internet, Macy called the UJC leadership "heartless with regard to the Jews who live and lived in Judea, Samaria and Gaza." [link]
How mean and heartless!
Or, perhaps, there is no money left, after support given by federations to gay propaganda efforts, Arab charities, and peace-making outreach to Islamists.
What do you think?
posted by: jrtelegraph
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