Terror Victims Will Rejoice

The Tzeirei Chabad Of Israel’s Terror Victims Project (CTVP) is currently rallying volunteers to bring mishloach manos, traditional gifts of food, to terror victims and their families on Purim. There are currently around 2,800 such families in Israel who have either lost a loved one or have a relative who was injured in the war against Palestinian terror that has raged through Israel since the signing of the Oslo accords. These families have to deal with a painful reality every day, including the tragic loss or injury of someone they loved and incurable trauma.

As Purim and the month of Adar, a time of rejoicing approach, many families find it impossible to forget their pain and join in the festive celebrations. A woman whose husband was seriously injured in a terror attack told her son, “Who has the energy or the desire to start with Purim costumes, a kindergarten party, or mishloach manos for your schoolfriends while Daddy is still in Beit Levenstein doing rehabilitation?”

CTVP, run by Rabbi Menachem Kutner, has announced that this year volunteers intend to visit 2,800 terror victims and their families on Purim, bringing them festival joy and doing the mitzvos of the day with them. For this reason, the Chabad Youth Organization is rallying volunteers from around the country to act as the “infantry” of 230 Chabad Houses countrywide. The volunteers will bring the families a package of mishloach manos and true festival joy.

Following previous campaigns, many family members later said that they felt that most of the public had forgotten their suffering. But the Chabad Youth Organization’s joyful Purim visits deeply moved them and gave them a rare moment of happiness with a feeling of solidarity at exactly the right time.

Chabad volunteers also give the families words of support, as well as the mishloach manos mentioned above and colorful brochures about Purim. In some places, the families are invited to Megillah readings and take part in special celebrations for children and their parents. Needy families are invited to Purim meals in the homes of the volunteers and take an active part in the joy of the festival.