May 25, 2005 -- Yeshiva University students have raised more than $70,000 since February as part of a campaign to help soup kitchens and philanthropic organizations alleviate hunger and poverty in Israel. The campaign, “Feed Israel’s Hungry,” is an initiative of Lman Achai (for the sake of our brothers), a grassroots, student-run organization that educates American Jews about widespread poverty in Israel and enables them to help the country’s 1.4 million impoverished citizens. Students decided to take action following reports in The Jewish Week, Jerusalem Post and UN Global Policy Forum that one in every five families and one in every three children in Israel live below the poverty line. “Lman Achai is an outstanding student-driven project that proactively responds to issues affecting the Jewish people,” said Rabbi Kenneth Brander, dean of YU’s Center for the Jewish Future, which plays a mentoring role for the students involved in the leadership of Lman Achai. “The experience of helping to feed Israel’s hungry is a powerful one that will leave a life-long impression on the students involved, inspiring future initiatives, both on campus and in the outside world.” Following a campaign kick-off event in February, students partnered with schools and synagogues nationwide to collect tzeddakah (charity money). Also, students hosted a variety of events during the past four months, suchas shiurim (lectures), and a matanot l’evyonim (gifts to the poor) drive for the Purim holiday. Lman Achai also participated in the Charlotte B. and Jack J. Spitzer B’nai B’rith Hillel Forum on Public Policy, Feb. 27-March 1 in Washington, DC, which encourages students to become social justice activists on campus. In March, Jewish communities nationwide lent their efforts to the project for Shabbat Lman Achai, during which synagogues encouraged donations and offered shiurim on the merits of charity. “Because of the tremendous efforts of students at YU, together with Jews from all over the United States, we were able to help 652 families in Israel have food for Passover,” said Baruch Deutsch, a representative for Lev Chessed Charity Fund, one of the Israel-based organizations that benefited from Lman Achai’s contributions. “When the chaggim [Jewish holidays] are approaching, it is particularly difficult for those less fortunate to make ends meet. Lman Achai helped Lev Chessed achieve its goal in ensuring that those who would have otherwise gone hungry had food for Passover.” The “Feed Israel’s Hungry” campaign will wrap up on June 5th at the Israel Day Parade in New York City. Students from Yeshiva University’s undergraduate Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women will collect monies there to distribute to various organizations that give direct assistance to Israel’s impoverished, including Meir Panim Soup Kitchens, Lev Chessed Charity Fund, and Yad Ezra.