May 17, 2007 / 29 Iyar 5767

250 kids taken to soccer final in Tel Aviv; 150 to spend this weekend in Jerusalem; plans to evacuate thousands to camps.

The Jewish Agency is offering a variety of emergency assistance to the residents of Sderot and the surrounding area following the intense rocket fire from Gaza over the last several days and is finalizing medium-term programs, including bringing thousands of school children to camps out of the area of attack.

On Wednesday, the Jewish agency brought a group of 250 kids and teens to attend the Israel soccer cup final in Tel Aviv. Thursday the Agency brought a truckload essential shelter supplies, including electric appliances, emergency lighting, and cleaning materials to Sderot residents. Today, the Agency will bring 150 youth from the area for a weekend in Jerusalem; the children and teens will stay at Jerusalem youth hostels will visit tourist and amusement attractions.

The Jewish Agency has also made immediately available $25,000 from its Victims of Terror Fund for immediate assistance to those who have been injured in the Kassam rocket attacks.

With an eye to next week, the Agency is working on a plan to bring thousands of children from Sderot and the surrounding area to camps in the center of the country.

“Just as we did in the North during the war in Lebanon last summer, the Jewish Agency and its partners are here to help the residents of Sderot and surrounding area who are under attack,” said Jewish Agency Chairman Zeev Bielski on a tour of Sderot today to oversee Jewish Agency assistance to the area.

For more information, please contact Jacob Dallal, director of public relations at 212-339-6064 or 646-644-1205 or via e-mail at jacobd@jafi.org.