The Confederation of Jewish Associations of Venezuela has launched an emergency fundraising campaign to help Jewish families harmed by the earthquakes. The campaign began on Sunday with a goal of $2 million. It had raised $176,000 by Sunday evening, the Confederation said.
“About 80 Jewish families have lost their homes, and another 200 are afraid to return home,” a member of Caracas’s Jewish community told Walla. “The community is currently assisting all of them.”
The Jewish community was in need of more external help than in the past, because it had decreased from about 20,000 to 3,000 members in recent years and has fewer families with the means to help, he said.
In a public appeal, the Jewish community said its leaders, professionals, and volunteers were working around the clock to assist those affected and respond to the growing number of emergencies.
“We need you,” the Confederation said in its appeal. “Every donation could mean the difference between life and death.”
Death toll rises even as foreign rescue team arrives
A GoFundMe campaign was launched, and the community called on Jews and supporters worldwide to join the humanitarian effort.
The death toll from last Wednesday’s twin earthquakes had risen to more than 1,400 as of Saturday. Foreign rescue teams were arriving in the coastal state of La Guaira, which was hit hardest and borders the Caracas district.
The GoFundMe link can be found here.
Jewish community leaders call for aid, support
The Jewish community of Venezuela’s president, Isaac Benjamin, and vice president, Roberto Mishkin, appealed to Jewish communities around the world in a video.
While the community suffered relatively few casualties, many families had lost their homes and remained unable to return because of extensive damage, they said.
Caracas’s Hebraica Jewish community and sports center had opened its doors as a shelter within hours of the earthquakes, the video said, adding that doctors, psychologists, security personnel, and dozens of volunteers worked around the clock to assist those affected.
A relief center was established to coordinate aid for families across the country, it said.
Jewish communities and humanitarian organizations worldwide had already provided significant assistance, but the most challenging phase was now beginning, the video said.
“We must help the families who suffered the greatest losses, rebuild our institutions, and continue providing the social, medical, and psychological support our community needs,” it said.
All donations would be channeled through Friends of the Venezuelan Jewish Community, a US-based nonprofit that has supported the community for many years, the video said.
“The Jewish people have always shown that when one community faces hardship, it is never alone,” it said.
"Today, we ask you to stand with us and help rebuild the lives of our families, our institutions, and the future of the Jewish community of Venezuela."