Tens of thousands of shekels in tzedaka funds were collected ahead of Purim for tzedaka in memory of terror victim Naftali Frenkel HY”D. The monies were collected in branches of the Ariel religious youth organization around Israel. The money is earmarked towards building a beis medrash in the community of Nof Ayalon in memory of Frenkel, the school Naftali attended for eight years.

Hundreds of children took part in events in Nof Ayalon, Chomat Shmuel and other communities ahead of Purim – holding carnivals and other fundraisers. In Nof Ayalon and Kibbutz Shalavim almost 11,000 NIS was raised and in the Chomat Shmuel neighborhood of Yerushalayim, an additional 2,500 NIS was raised.

The family of the 16-year-old terror victim, who attended the Makor Chaim Yeshiva was one of the three Gush Etzion kedoshim murdered by a Hamas terrorist last summer. Also murdered were Eyal Yifrach and Gilad Shaar HY”D.

In addition to the above, another initiative is happening in memory of all three of the youths by the “Hakel” organization of students. Yellow rubber bracelets have been produced with the inscription “ואהבת לרעך כמוך” are being distributed to 60,000 students in stage one of the operation.

After the three were abducted from a Gush Etzion hitchhiking post Avraham Lifshitz, who heads the Religious Education Unit, visited with the families. The father of Eyal Yifrach HY”D gave Lifshitz a bracelet with the inscription “שובו בנים” after the IDF operation to bring the boys back bearing that name was launched.

After their bodies were recovered Lifshitz decided on the new yellow bracelets, which he hopes to have distributed nationwide to get the “Love thy neighbor as thyself” message out.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)