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 ”  54 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Harav Haim Kanievsky shlita praying for Kupat Ha’ir supporters at the Kotel T hey are living the dream. For over two millennia, Jews all over the world waited for the chance to return to the Land of Israel and raise a family according to Jewish tradition. But while today that dream is a reality, for many of those who have chosen to carry it out, it often feels more like a nightmare. Aside from the constant security threat, Israelis today face a poverty crisis of mammoth proportions. Over 1.5 million Israelis, and one out of every three children, were living in poverty in 2006 according to Israel’s National Insurance Institute (INN) – and the situation is only getting worse. For thousands of Israeli families, the last lifeline of hope is Kupat Ha’ir. Established eight years ago by leading rabbis with the goal of assisting disadvantaged observant families throughout Israel, Kupat Ha’ir (literally, “charity fund of the city”) has come to the aid of those living, working, or studying in Israel, who have fallen upon financial hardship and difficult situations that have left them in need of assistance. About two thirds of them are Sephardic, and nearly half are working families, but all of them have one thing in common: they are on the verge of bitter poverty. Many of these families have suffered from sudden job losses or are simply struggling to make their necessary monthly payments or afford medical care. Living in the abundance of America, it is difficult to understand the deep level of poverty that exists in Israel, where there are those who literally have no food to eat, yet this is unfortunately the case. SUDDEN POVERTY For decades the Israeli government followed a policy of encouraging and financially supporting large Jewish families. The purpose of this policy was to counteract the high birthrate among Israeli Arabs, which it is estimated would otherwise pose the demographic threat of constituting a majority of the population in another quarter-century. But in 2003, with the steady rise in military spending, the government found these longstanding economic incentives for large families unsustain- able. These programs were largely revoked, leaving the heads of many of the nation’s largest and neediest households far short of the means to provide for their families. As a result of these cuts and other economic factors, the number of children in Israel living under the poverty line has increased by 50 per- cent in the last 10 years according to the INN. Kupat Ha’ir’s establishment came in response to this rapid rise in poverty. The organization sees to it that some sense of normalcy is restored to affected families so that their burdens can be diminished as much as possible. WHY GIVE TO ISRAEL’S POOR? We all feel at least a little bit guilty. Although American Jews by and large deeply admire Israelis who tough it out to live a Torah lifestyle in the Holy Land, as Jews with both the freedom and the means to move there ourselves, our choice to remain in the comfortable environs of America leaves us just a bit uneasy. In many ways we consider our courageous Israeli counterparts our proxies – carrying out Hashem’s will on our behalf. But to validate this connection, we need to keep our part of the bar- gain and provide much needed financial assistance. WHY GIVE THROUGH KUPAT HA’IR? From Kiryat Shemona in the north to Be’er Sheva in the south, Kupat Ha’ir not only provides funds to these families, but also assigns an individual who assumes responsibility for Why Your Rabbi Supports