the volunteers trying to help the boys in Japan. There is a VERY CRITICAL situation now:
The end of the boys' trials are very near with Yaakov Yosef's closing arguments scheduled for March 28th. The askanim are tremendously behind in payment to the lawyers and at this critical time the lawyers ARE THREATENING to STOP working on the case!
I am sending an e-mail to all people I know to PLEASE cal the Japan Pidyon Shvuyim hotline. You can verify the details and PLEASE help out by donating as much as you possibly can. They need to raise a FEW HUNDRED THOUSAND dollars in the next few days. If everyone will take it upon themselves to raise a hundred dollars, we can make this happen. My daughter sent e-mails to friends and it generated a few hundred dollars. Please tell others.
I just want to explain that at our recent Yom Iyun for eleventh graders, I showed a slide show about the situation. We had pictures of the boys. If you would watch this video, you would be crying. One of the boys is almost unrecognizable from the amount of weight he has lost. That is not to mention being separated from family, no contact with anyone except through a glass partition, a freezing cold cell....and all of that could chas v'shalom turn a hundred times worse if they are sentenced and send to the labor camp...
It's three years already...Who can imagine their pain and the pain of their families...?!
Please realize that there are just a few weeks left for the lawyers to prepare their closing arguments.Every day that they are not working is Critical. Please respond to this appeal and call NOW!
Tizku L'mitzvos
Mrs. Bassie Gugenheim
PS If you are wondering why you do not know about this and why there is not so much coverage about the situation, the answer is that there are only a handful of dedicated volunteers doing everything. There is no one being paid and nowhere near enough manpower. Anything that you can do to create publicity for this emergency situation will be appreciated. You do not have to take my word for it. Speak to them directly.
TO DONATE BY PHONE CALL THE 24 HOUR HOTLINE
718-534-0030 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 718-534-0030 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
BY MAIL
ORACH CHAIM RESCUE FUND
c/o HORAV MALKIEL KOTLER
Rosh Yeshivas Beth Medrash Gevoha
521 Fifth Street
Lakewood, NJ 08701
website here
2 comments:
please contact me for updated appeal for Japan and please take off the one you have.
I am thankful that my email has generated response and it is needed. However, when I sent an e-mail to my list of people I never dreamed it would go so far and was not careful enough with some wording. Here is updated wording:
The closing arguments for Yaakov Yosef ben Raizel's appeal (who was initially sentenced to six years in Japanese labor jail) is scheduled for March 28th—in just three weeks from now. The judge for Yoel Zev (who is older) is delaying his verdict because he will allow the outcome of Yaakov Yosef's trial to influence the verdict for Yoel Zev.
AT THIS CRITICAL STAGE, EVERY MINUTE OF THE LAWYERS' TIME SHOULD BE GOING INTO PREPARATION OF CLOSING ARGUMENTS. HOWEVER, THE LAWYERS ARE OWED OUTSTANDING LEGAL FEES FROM DECEMBER 2010.
In order to encourage the defense attorney’s dedication and determination, there is an urgent need for a huge sum of money. Last week we needed $120,000.00 which we do not yet have. Approximately, another $224.000.00 will be needed to complete the trials for a total of $344,000.00.
As long as the lawyers have large outstanding invoices, it can have a direct effect on the efforts they invest in the trial. This can pose a danger for these crucial, last few weeks. The clock is ticking to the moment of the trial. Every day can make a difference.
WE ARE TURNING TO YOU TO PLEASE HELP OUT by donating as much as possible and joining our “CALL TEN” program. Encourage ten friends and family members to respond to this urgent appeal.
Of course, we also ask you to keep these young men in your tefillos. Even if you cannot help in raising money, tefillos bring the real yeshuah. Say a perek of tehillim for them every morning. Throughout the day, whenever you remember their plight, ask Hashem to please bring the yeshuah, b'karov… And keep them in mind when you daven on Purim.
FOR THREE YEARS NOW, THESE BOYS HAVE BEEN IN ISOLATION, never having contact with anyone except through a glass window. They have lost a tremendous amount of weight, subsisting on a meager diet of fresh food and rice rendered kosher. Their concrete cell rooms are freezing cold. None of this even gives over a fraction of the pain for them and for their families. If, chas v'shalom all the efforts of the last three years fall through because of lack of money, these boys could end up in the labor jail. They are Acheinu Bais Yisroel. We cannot look the other way.
For direct update, go to japanpidyon.org. The site will be updated soon
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