- Belev Echad, a nonprofit based in New York City, has been providing aid to wounded soldiers in Israel following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.
- Rabbi Uriel Vigler, the group’s founder, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Belev Echad has received a lot of support from people across the United States.
- “We’re focused on our mission, we spread light in the world … we believe one more good deed today can dispel the darkness of the world,” Vigler told the DCNF.
A New York-based nonprofit focused on supporting wounded Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers has received an “outpouring of support” following Hamas’ terrorist attacks, the organization’s founder told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Belev Echad, a nonprofit staffed by wounded IDF soldiers, has deployed its members to Israel to treat wounded soldiers and provide assistance to their families, according to the organization’s website. The organization has received considerable support from Americans for their operations, Rabbi Uriel Vigler, who founded Belev Echad with his wife, told the DCNF.
“We have seen an outpouring of support from all over the USA, I think in general people are very positive, people are outraged by what is happening, we’ve seen a tremendous amount of support,” Vigler said.
Belev Echad is running an initiative dubbed “Operation Swords Of Iron,” a fundraising campaign to support its efforts to create emergency care packages, provide medical treatment and distribute food and visit hospitals, according to its website. A total of 4,121 people in Israel have been wounded in the Hamas terrorist attacks as of Monday, according to The Times of Israel.
“We have seen an uptick fundraising—but we will need a lot more,” Vigler told the DCNF. “We are in urgent need of more funds to save the lives of more wounded soldiers—we need medical supplies for example—we need a lot more money.”
Belev Echad has a center in Israel that serves as “a second house” for wounded soldiers where they provide them with therapy, Vigler told the DCNF. It had 600 soldiers under its direct care before the war, though has had to take on hundreds of new wounded soldiers. (RELATED: Republican Rep. Cory Mills Announces Rescue Of Nearly 100 Americans Stranded In Israel)
“We noticed there’s not enough hospital beds in Israel, so we’re now transforming our home into a mini hospital where soldiers can come and have basic medical needs tended to,” Vigler said.
We’re converting our house in Israel into a rehabilitation center for wounded soldiers. Israel’s hospitals are maxed to capacity and they need all the help they can get. Our amazing team in Israel is working around the clock to make this happen. #HeroesOfIsrael pic.twitter.com/9ajoK6vkTh
— Belev Echad (@BelevEchad_) October 11, 2023
One of Belev Echad’s staff members, Raz Mizrahi, was murdered at the concert where Hamas massacred at least 260 people, Vigler told the DCNF.
“We are all in shock and mourning, but we have to stay strong and positive and win this war,” he said.
Pro-Palestinian protests have broken out across the country with some explicitly glorifying the violence employed by Hamas, NBC News reported. A protest at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, was described by its organizer as a demonstration “to support Palestine and to support the Palestinian resistance” and was promoted using a flyer with images of a paraglider, which Hamas terrorists used during the Oct. 7 attacks, according to WRAL News.
One attendant at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City held up a picture of a swastika, according to The New York Post.
“We’re focused on our mission, we spread light in the world … we believe one more good deed today can dispel the darkness of the world,” Vigler told the DCNF. “We’re not focused on the negative, focused on the demonstrations, we’re focused on doing good. The protests cannot deter us, won’t cower us, won’t define us and we continue going stronger ever.”
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