In less than 24 hours, Israelis gave more than $272,750 to help Palestinians whose homes and businesses were destroyed by dozens of rioting settlers in the northern West Bank town of Huwara on Sunday.
A 37-year-old Palestinian man was killed, 300 were wounded - four of them seriously - and dozens of buildings and vehicles were set on fire in the mass riot that followed the killing of two Israeli brothers in a terror shooting in the same town.
Labor party member Yaya Fink started an online crowd-funding campaign the morning following the attack.
Fink set a $27,275 initial goal for the project. But, by around 6 a.m. on Tuesday, some 7,283 people had contributed $291,015. Fink told The Times of Israel in a Monday interview: “It’s only a small deed, but as the Jewish proverb goes, ‘A little bit of light can dispel a lot of darkness.’”
“As a religious Jew myself… I felt that I could not be silent under such circumstances,” Fink said. “They’re creating a warped new Judaism and bearing the name of the true one in vain. I came to the conclusion that I needed to raise a different Jewish, Zionist, Israeli voice.”
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Palestinian protesters gesture next to burning tires during clashes with Israeli security forces at the Hawara checkpoint
(Photo: AFP)
When asked how he intended to distribute the funds to Huwara residents, Fink replied that he was contacting local leaders through former Israeli security personnel. He estimated that it would take roughly three weeks to identify the precise families whose homes and businesses had been vandalized. In addition, in order to prevent any of the funds from going to Palestinians with a history of security violations, background checks will be carried out.