SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — More than 7,000 miles separates Sierra Vista and Tel Aviv, Israel, but that’s not stopping people from Sierra Vista from helping people in the Middle East.
“It's so important to be able to give them what we take for granted here, living in America,” said Rabbi Benzion Shemtov.
Shemtov is the Rabbi of Chabad for Cochise County, the Synagogue in Sierra Vista. The recent airstrikes from Iran into Israel shows the continued unrest in the Middle East, which is why Shemtov is getting a small group together for a trip to Israel for what he's calling a 'solidarity trip'.
"This is our way of fighting on the front lines, when we could not only pray for them, but we could also give from ourselves,” Shemtov said.
The Rabbi hasn’t been to Israel in 20 years, but is making the trip because he want's to see what's happening and help those directly affected.
“I have no intentions on putting myself in harm's way, but just to be in Israel, I have no fear at all,” Shemtov said.
He and three other people will travel to Israel in November. They will be giving back by helping on farms, and giving food and money to those affected by the attacks. Shemtov said most of the trip will be talking or being with people who were affected by the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks and have been unhoused.
"I know that we will come back inspired, but hopefully we can inspire them as well,” Shemtov said.
In the meantime, they're collecting monetary donations to take with them so that they can purchase gift cards for grocery stores and other food places to give to those directly affected by the war.
“The more we raise, the bigger impact that we could have, and the more people we could help when we're on the ground,” Shemtov said. “We want to be able to leave an impact on the people, the we meet then the visuals that were and harms way. We want to empower them.”
Donations can be made on GoFundMe and in person at Sierra Cycles.
Disclaimer: KGUN 9 doesn’t publish or endorse links to any GoFundMe pages because we do not have the resources to track the legitimacy of each account or how any donations are used.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
