Israel Matzav

A camp for terror victims

The Wall Street Journal has an article on OneFamily's William Goldberg Passover camp, which took place this past week. The camp is for the benefit of children from families who were victims of terror attacks.

In 10 years, OneFamily has given out about $35 million to support terror victims. The organization provides help to some 2,800 families throughout Israel, rehabilitating people who have been directly affected by terrorist attacks and the families of those victims. That includes therapy, group support and financial support.

OneFamily sponsors three camps a year. The camps serve to both relieve the tension and anxiety of victims and provide an opportunity for fun, with therapy and developing friendships as dual goals for the three-day stay.

After a terror attack, many children suffer from depression, isolation and have parents that are "absorbed in mourning," says Chantal Belzberg, executive vice chairman of OneFamily.

Camp was important to the Goldberg children, too, says Ms. Goldberg. She went to sleep-away camps for 12 years and says that no matter the camp, it's a great feeling for a child to get away. She says the OneFamily camp serves the purpose of helping children to "have a couple of days to get out of their own nightmares."

Ms. Goldberg says that the family keeps her father's philanthropy in mind when making gifts.

"He was constantly teaching and talking to us about what he felt was important," she says. "There's no question that a lot of his passions in life became ours."

You can read the full article - even if you don't have a subscription to the Wall Street Journal - here.

The Belzberg family (at least the branch here in Israel) has turned OneFamily into a hugely successful venture that has provided badly needed assistance and support to terror victims and their families. It is a classic example of the private sector stepping in where it can do things better than the government can. The Belzbergs deserve all the credit in the world for what they have done. And I hope no new Israelis ever need their services.

Labels: One Family

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:41 PM