Helping Victims in Israel

Framed by Orange County’s snow-capped mountains, a 5K walk in Irvine to raise money for victim aid relief in Israel drew nearly 1,000 participants Sunday.

Starting out at Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School in Irvine, students and their families braved chilly winds as they strolled along Bonita Canyon and Shady Canyon drives waving Israeli flags.

With $30,000 in advance donations collected, Sunday’s event was expected to raise $50,000, said Shalom C. Elcott, a spokesman for the Jewish Federation of Orange County.

The money will go to the Jewish Agency Fund for the Victims of Terror, a 2-year-old organization that has distributed more than $11 million in donations collected worldwide to more than 1,600 families, according to its website. Grants have also been made for medical equipment, housing and other purposes.

Chelle Friedman of Anaheim, a member of a mothers and daughters group called Dor V’Dor, said it helped organize the walk to increase public awareness, noting that people have been killed by suicide bombers on buses and while eating in restaurants.

“Meanwhile, we’re sitting comfortably in the United States and have no idea how devastating this is for the families of people who are going about their daily lives and die while riding a bus or eating a meal,” she said.

John Burger, a small-business owner who lives in Irvine, said he joined the walk out of respect for the Jewish community and for his wife, Kim, who’s Jewish. They are raising their twin daughters, Alexandra and Zoe, 8, in the Jewish faith.

“I’m Roman Catholic,” Burger said. “But recognizing victims of terror is something we all should do.”

Before the event, volunteers planted at the school more than 1,000 small crosses, each with a photo and short account of the person’s death. Ayelet Nachman of Irvine said she walked on behalf of Bruria Zer-Aviv, a grandmother who was among 21 people killed in Haifa on Oct. 4, 2003, after a bomb went off inside a restaurant.

“The family [was there] to celebrate the birthday of Zer-Aviv’s granddaughter,” Nachman said, adding that four other family members were killed that day.

Those eligible for aid include the families of off-duty Israeli soldiers killed in conflict. No charity funds go to members of the Israeli military, said Jodi Greenbaum of Dor V’Dor.

Some of the money raised will go to a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah celebration for 35 youngsters who have lost a parent or siblings to conflict, organizers said. “This money goes to all victims of terror in Israel,” Elcott said. “There has been Arabs, Russians, Ethiopians, even an American who was killed in Israel by a bomb.”