JERUSALEM, Israel – March 10, 2008 – One Family Fund, a non-profit organization that helps victims of terror, has planned seven, simultaneous solidarity rallies around the world on March 20 to show solidarity with the People of Israel. The rallies will be broadcast live on the Internet, starting in Sderot and moving around the world, creating the first-ever global cyberspace rally to support Israel. Jews on every continent will be able to participate by simply logging on to www.together4israel.org, a website created especially for this event.
Alan Dershowitz, the renowned American international lawyer who wrote the popular book, The Case for Israel, and Irwin Cotler, a Canadian Member of Parliament and expert on human rights, will kick off the evening live from Sderot, on Purim together with the people who live in Sderot and those who have been wounded.
"The world needs to know that Jews everywhere support Israel’s right to defend itself,” said Dershowitz. “We’re starting in Sderot because the people there live under a constant barrage of kassam rockets, but our message is that terror cannot be tolerated from anyone, not from Hamas, not from Hezbollah and certainly not from Iran."
"One Family Fund is encouraging everyone to log onto this event and be counted amongst the supporters of Israel. Send a message to everyone in Israel that we in the Diaspora care about you," said Marc Belzberg, co-chairman of One Family Fund. "If you cannot watch the event, leave your computer on the rally site in order to be counted."
The opening event in Sderot will be followed by a stop at the Western Wall to say Tehillim, psalms, with the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Metzger. The cameras will then take us live to the chief Rabbi of England at his synagogue rally and then to New York, broadcasting from the synagogue of Kehilas Jeshurun on the East Side at 6:00pm with local dignitaries.
The broadcast will then jump to the Simon Weisenthal Center in Los Angeles where Rabbi Marvin Hier and other local dignitaries and Hollywood personalities will be present, and then to Australia.
The entire broadcast rally will be one hour and will be broadcast live on the web at www.together4israel.org.
March 20, which coincides this year with the Jewish holiday of Purim, was chosen as the event date for specific reasons.
”We wanted the rallies to happen on Purim,” said Belzberg. “2,000 years ago, Mordechai asked Esther to gather the Jews together, to unite, since the unity of the Jewish People is a critical component of our salvation. Today we’re asking the same thing. Logging on and being part of this global solidarity rally will be a big boost to Jewish unity and will give the people of Israel and Sderot strength and courage.”
The current list of official sponsors of the event include The Jewish National Fund, The Simon Wiesenthal Center, The World Jewish Congress, Hillel: The Foundation of Jewish Campus Life, Israel on Campus Coalition, The Orthodox Union, Devote South Africa and The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
There will be updates on the Web site as special guests and organizational sponsors join.
For more news like this and up-to-date briefs about Jewish campus life, subscribe to our free eNewsletter Hillel Campus Report.