Middle East

Staff photos by Armando Rios

Yossi Benjamin prepares the food.

Hannah Rybak, 9, of Farmington Hills, Elizabeth Malashetsky, 8, of West
Bloomfield, Elinor Ross of Oak Park and her daughter Michelle Billy Ross,
11 months old, with Alexis ltskovitch, 11, of West Bloomfield

Helping Israelis

Robin Schwartz
Special to the Jewish News

C

hicken sizzled on the
grill and the smell of
falafel and other Israeli
dishes filled the air as more than
100 people lined up to get into
Yossi's Israeli Cuisine in West
Bloomfield on Sept. 7.
. Owner Yossi Benjamin, a
Haifa native who now lives in
Farmington Hills, shut down his
normal restaurant operation for
the night to host a fundraiser for
Israeli soldiers and civilians who
continue to rebuild and recover
from Israel's recent war with
Hezbollah. The event spilled out
i into the parking lot, where partic-
ipants sat at tables eating dinner
while a DJ played Israeli music.
"We need to get united. We

Sigal Levine of. West

Bloomfield helps out.

Yossi's benefit aids soldiers, civilians and
their families victimized by terror.

need to support Israel any way
we can," Benjamin said as he
manned the grill. "It's the least I
can do."
The Yossi's benefit gave a
portion of the evening's $20
per person admission to two
different organizations, The
Friends of the Israel Defense
Forces and the One Family
Fund. The Friends of the IDF
supports social, educational and
recreational programs for sol-
diers, and provides services for
widows and children of soldiers
killed fighting for Israel. The
One Family Fund assists Israeli
victims of terrorism, providing

financial, legal and emotional
support.
The Yossi's event raised $1,000
for each of the organizations.
"After the bombing is over,
the people who are injured and
displaced are still injured and
displaced. The people who are
bereaved are bereaved for the rest
of their lives:' said Ashley Israel
of Farmington Hills, a volunteer
with the Israel-based One Family
Fund. "The organization is taking
care of thousands of people with
a whole variety of needs. Many
people will need help for as long
as they live."
The fund's Web site says one

out of every 300 families in Israel
has been directly affected by ter-
rorism. Meanwhile, the FIDF is
still in the midst of an emergency
campaign. Even though a cease-
fire is in effect, many IDF soldiers
are still deployed in Lebanon and
along Israel's northern border.
"I live in the States, but my
heart is in Israel," said Ruth Vosko
of Farmington Hills. She has
served as a volunteer with the
IDF on several occasions.
Jeanette Weinbaum Weisman of
Bloomfield Hills was one of many
in the crowd who also expressed
a strong desire to lend support.
"When people die, they're gone;

Mike Lebow of West Bloomfield and his son Ark, Max Dashevsky, 12, of Farmington Hills pays his
13, Kathy Tobin (center) of Orchard Lake and her $20 admission.
children Jenna, 15, and Ben, 16

you don't have to worry about
them:' Weisman said. "But, when
you have victims of terror, whose
bodies are demolished and they
can't see or walk, those are the
ones who have to be brought back
to want to live."
"The Israeli soldiers are fight-
ing a battle for the whole world:'
Weisman added. "I hope every-
body wakes up and sees that
nobody in this world deserves to
be blown up and nobody in this
world deserves to live under the
kind of threat Israel lives with
every day."

For more information or to
make a contribution to the
Friends of the IDF or the One
Family Fund, go to their Web
sites www.israelsoldiers.org and
www.onefamilyfund.org .

DJ Jenny Feterovich of West
Bloomfield

September 14 " 2006

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