Israel sends help to Surfside’s Jewish community after building collapse

SURFSIDE, Fla. – Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said on Friday that he was praying for the victims of the tragedy in Miami-Dade County’s town of Surfside.

Rivlin tasked Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid with sending aid to the site of the tragedy at the Champlain Towers South and to the Jewish community.

“We hope for the recovery of the survivors and send heartfelt condolences to those who have lost family members,” Rivlin wrote on Twitter.

Members of the Israel Defense Force’s Home Front Command search-and-rescue team traveled from the Middle Eastern country to work on finding survivors in the rubble of what is left of the 12-story building.

Volunteers with Hatzalah, an emergency medical service organization that serves Jewish communities around the world, were also at the site. They offered their assistance to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel.

As of Saturday morning, Miami-Dade officials said there were 159 people who remained unaccounted for, including a group of Orthodox Jews from Russia. Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, the acting consul general of Israel in Miami, said more than two dozen were Jewish and had links to Israel.

“To see the agony, the pain, the worry ... we see also how hope slowly ... diminishes,” Elbaz-Starinsky said about the time he was spending with relatives in need of support.

Ronit Felszer, of the Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus, had Shabbat dinner Friday evening, while he was waiting on updates on Ilan Naibryf, a physics and molecular engineering student, and his girlfriend Deborah Berezdivin. The couple was at the Champlain Towers South and remained unaccounted for.

“Never, never, never in my life or in the countries I have lived, have I experienced the generosity of South Florida Jewish Community,” Felszer wrote on Facebook on Friday. “You are one of a kind. Friends, friends of Friends, friends of friends, and their friend of friends. I think we have enough food for the entire month.”

Berezdivin was a member of The Shul Jewish Community Center. Rabbi Sholom Lipskar said more than 13 members of The Shul in Surfside remained unaccounted for. They had received truckloads of donations for the families in need.

The Times of Israel reported Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett deployed a team that includes Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai, who plans to travel to Surfside on Saturday night.

Family reunification center

The town was hosting those who are waiting for information about unaccounted relatives after the partial collapse at Champlain Towers South at the community center at 9301 Collins Ave. On Friday, they moved the relatives to the Grand Beach Hotel Surfside at 9449 Collins Ave. Levine Cava said relatives had two daily briefings.

For information or to report the status of a loved one who is unaccounted for, call 305-614-1819 or 305-993-1071.

Complete coverage

• HOW TO HELP: Here’s a list of resources to support those impacted by building collapse
• Photos: Loved ones name those they say are missing
• Photos: Building in Surfside partially collapses
• Hotline and wellness form for residents and families

Coverage on Friday

• Champlain Towers South resident survives by climbing through rubble in the dark with her dog
• Teen identified after being pulled from rubble in Surfside, family confirms mother is among those dead
• Man who lives in condo looks out, tells wife ‘My parents’ apartment isn’t there’
• Surfside collapse: Family reunification center moving from community space to hotel
• First lawsuit filed after partial building collapse in Surfside
• Smoke billows out from Champlain Towers South collapse site
• Surfside officials discuss aftermath of building collapse: ‘Terrible tragedy’ to change recertification
  

Coverage on Thursday

• Officials fear there will be many casualties after Surfside building ‘pancaked’ during collapse
• Surveillance video captures eerie moments as part of Surfside condo crashes down
• Man says all he saw was ‘white clouds of dust’
• Father remains missing; wife and daughter hospitalized after Surfside building collapse
• Surfside condo that collapsed was going through a recertification process
• After Surfside collapse do you need to worry about your building?
• Officials fear there will be many casualties after Surfside building ‘pancaked’ during collapse
• Geologist warned of instability in Surfside