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H.P. fundraiser is day of fun and raising awareness
OneFamily Fund event draws 400 in support of terror victims

Jacob Kamaras
THE JEWISH STATE
September 11, 2009

Two years ago, Barak Moore was asked to take pictures of numerous families who had lost loved ones to terrorism at OneFamily Fund's annual event in Israel. In front of a much different type of crowd this Labor Day, Moore was part of OneFamily's outreach efforts in Highland Park.

At Donaldson Park on Monday, "All County OneFamily Fun Day" was a day of carnival games, sports, arts and crafts, and live music. But Moore, who named his son after a terror victim, was one of several speakers who reminded attendees that the fundraiser was about more than having a good time.

OneFamily helps rebuild the lives of terror victims in Israel through financial support, therapy, legal assistance, and youth programs. Inspired by the organization's work, Moore named his now 6-year-old son Noam after Noam Apter, who died while saving 70 fellow students from a terrorist attack during a Shabbat dinner in 2002.

"I would reflect [OneFamily's mission] by naming my child after [Apter], because he's also my family," Moore told The Jewish State.

Labor Day's program, attended by 400 people, was organized by OneFamily's first-ever summer interns, including Rivki Dobin of Highland Park, Sarah Bond of Elizabeth, and Chani Kaslow and Ariella Gottesman of Teaneck. The quartet worked at the organization's Teaneck office, with the goal of acquiring the skills to run a successful charity event.

Dobin said she was excited that the event serves to raise awareness about OneFamily in her hometown. Keeping in line with the OneFamily concept, the activities included something for everyone, from face painting and a magic show for children, to a 3-on-3 basketball tournament for teens, to live music and a raffle.

"It feels pretty great," Dobin, 20, said of organizing an event in her hometown. "It looks much better than it did in my head. It's nice to see it all come together."

Elissa Sce, who supervised the interns this summer and is OneFamily's director of marketing and education, said that the main goal of the event was to develop a volunteer force for the organization in New Jersey.

Dovid Levine of Highland Park has been volunteering for OneFamily since the summer of 2006, and spoke to the crowd about the organization's purpose of getting the lives of terror victims back on track.

"I don't know if we understand what it means to be in a terrorist attack," the 19-year-old Levine said. "It's like life stops and you don't know if you can start up again."

In an interview with The Jewish State, Levine expanded on how he feels that from afar, it is difficult for Americans to grasp the impact of terrorism in Israel.

"One attack is a tragedy, two attacks is a tragedy, but when it comes to a number like [Israel has had] it becomes just a statistic," Levine said.

Michal Belzberg was preparing for her bat mitzvah in Jerusalem when a suicide bomber struck the crowded Sbarro restaurant in the city's downtown. The attack murdered 15 and wounded 130 Jewish men, women, and children. It was the most deadly attack in Jerusalem since the beginning of the Intifada in September 2000.

OneFamily was founded when Michal Belzberg of Jerusalem decided to cancel her bat mitzvah party so she could instead use any gifts for the victims of the Sbarro attack. The Belzberg family raised more than $100,000, and continued to assist other Israelis affected by terror.

Rachel Moore, Barak's wife, said she got acquainted with Marc and Chantal Belzberg while working in Jerusalem City Hall and became "a regular at their Shabbos table." Moore recalled when Chantal would tell her how she didn't want to waste money on a party as Michal's bat mitzvah was approaching.

At OneFamily's Israel event two years ago, Rachel said that she and Barak "were told by so many [Israeli] people that they don't know how American Jews feel." Rachel, however, said that she knows American Jews do feel very strongly about helping terror victims in Israel, and that OneFamily creates a bridge that allows them to convey those feelings to Israelis in a personal way.

The Moores moved from Israel to Highland Park 10 years ago, and now live in Twin Rivers. Barak said that by naming their son after a hero like Noam Apter, they were sending a message that Jews killed by terrorists will always live on. When two heavily armed terrorists snuck into the kitchen and opened fire on Apter's fellow students, Apter, who volunteered with three others to do kitchen duty that night, locked the doors from the kitchen to the dining hall to delay the terrorists and grabbed his gun to fight back.

"The story is being perpetuated," Barak said.