MK Accompanies Chabad on Terror Victim Purim Visit

The Saroussi family of Tel Aviv knows that for every holiday they will receive a very special visit from Chabad Terror Victims Project. They look forward to these visits and the great comfort they bring to them.

It is comfort they urgently need. Nine years ago, on a beautiful, balmy evening, Linoy Saroussi, just 14 years old, was murdered in cold blood by a terrorist who infiltrated the community of Hermesh where she and her family lived. The pain and anguish the family has gone through since the loss of their beloved daughter has affected every aspect of their lives.

So they look forward to visits from CTVP because they know that the volunteers who come understand what they have gone through. They know they will bring help and hope.

But this year, the Saroussi’s were astonished when they opened their door on Purim morning.

There stood Member of the Knesset Yossi Peled who had joined the CTVP team to bring encouragement and Purim happiness to bereaved families.

The Saroussi parents, Kobi and Anat, were delighted and honored to greet Minister Peled as well as Chairman of Chabad in Israel, Rabbi Joseph Aronov, and Director of Chabad Terror Victims Project, Rabbi Menachem Kutner.

Sitting down to talk together, the Saroussi’s explained to Minister Peled how terror affects a family for their entire lives. The public is interested in the family for some time after the attack, but, as with all things in life, they move on while the suffering family continues to feel their pain and agony.

Certain times of the year, they said, are the hardest, especially the holidays like Purim. That is when they feel their loss most acutely. CTVP is there for them at these difficult times – and always.

CTVP visits more than 3,000 families of terror victims for every holiday. At Purim time they bring an elegant package of Mishloach Manos filled with delectable treats that are lovingly packaged by children and volunteers from Kfar Chabad. They bring the singing and joy of the holiday into the homes of families whose lives have been changed forever.

Minister Peled listened intently to all the Saroussi family told him. He was very moved when they told him that since Linoy was killed, they have had three more children. “This is our answer to terror,” they said.

They told him how much CTVP helps them and then described how their son was one of the almost 90 children who just celebrated their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs at the Western Wall because of CTVP. Minister Peled offered them his personal Mazel Tov as well as warm expressions of encouragement and strength. He told them how much he personally appreciates all that CTVP does for them and for all the families they help.

The financial difficulties that families who have suffered the trauma of terror experience was also a topic of conversation. Kobi then shocked his visitors by telling them that they were being threatened with having their electricity cut off in two days because they couldn’t pay.

When Rabbi Aronov heard this, he immediately announced that CTVP will make the necessary payments and that their electricity will not be turned off.

The Saroussi parents cried with relief, calling this their Purim miracle!

Earlier in the visit, Kobi had put on tefillin. He told Rabbi Kutner then that he felt that this mitzvah would help him with his problems. Little did he know how quickly the mitzvah would work!

Sending beautiful Mishloach Manos packages on Purim to thousands of victims of terror, Israel Defense Forces soldiers, patients in hospitals, and the elderly and needy is just one facet of Chabad Terror Victims Project’s broad-based humanitarian work that brings comfort and hope to so many in Israel.