SupportING israel

The heinous attack carried out by Hamas on Israel’s southern communities on Shabbat/Simchat Torah 5784, October 7, 2023, left more than 1,400 Jews murdered, over 240 taken captive, and thousands more injured. Hostages, including women, children, and the elderly, remain in the inhumane hands of our barbaric enemies. Over 300,000 courageous soldiers and reservists of the IDF have left the comforts of their homes and their families to protect us.

Ohr Torah Stone has some 4,000 students, alumni, and faculty members currently serving in the “Iron Swords” War. We are ensuring that the physical and emotional needs of those on the frontlines as well as their families back home are met today, tomorrow, and for the arduous future that lies ahead.

Every dollar donated will go directly to:

• Equipment for Soldiers – We are procuring and distributing bulletproof vests, sleeping bags, thermal clothing and raingear, flashlights, thermal-imaging monoculars, night-vision goggles, drones, and solar mobile phone chargers, to enable soldiers on the frontlines to perform their duties to the utmost of their abilities.
• Augmented Security on our Campuses – Two of our campuses in the Gush Etzion bloc are situated in outlying areas that do not benefit from the extra safety provided by cities, and lie close to sites of violent attacks in the past. Items provided to these campuses include reinforced fencing and new gates, state-of-the-art night-vision goggles and communications devices, and additional security cameras. We are also augmenting security in our schools and campuses across the country.
• Emotional Support – Assisted by mental healthcare professionals, we are increasing emotional support throughout our institutional network in particular for families of first-circle casualties, as well as those suffering from PTSD and other emotional issues and reactions to the crisis (fear, frustration, anxiety, insecurity, etc.).
• Assistance to agunot who left the North and the South – With state social services stretched to the extreme, many of our Yad La’isha clients are “falling through the cracks” and desperately need financial assistance. Some agunot – a vulnerable population even in “normal” times – have been evacuated from their homes, and have no income to acquire their basic necessities. Many have no jobs, or cannot work because there is no childcare in their area. A sizable proportion of these women have run out of money and need immediate help buying food, clothing, and medicines.
• Secure Shelter for Displaced Families and Soldiers – We are currently housing dozens of families and students evacuated from the border communities, as well as a unit of IDF Special Forces, at our campuses across the country.
  
  

Please consider extending your generous support of OTS at this time, so that we may continue to ensure the immediate safety and wellbeing of our students, clients, soldiers, and their families – and keep them out of harm’s way.