28 November 2013 - Boys Town Jerusalem (BTJ), one of Israel's premier institutions for educating underprivileged Jewish youth in the fields of technology, commerce, education, the military and public service, expressed sympathy and reached out to the victims and survivors of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in the Philippines by donating 25 boxes of assorted food and relief materials.
A class of young students assisted by Philippine Ambassador to Israel Generoso D.G. Calonge, initiated the packing of relief materials inside the BTJ campus today.
Ambassador Calonge updated BTJ officials led by its International Development Executive Mr. Yoni Strimber and Rabbi Moshe Linchner during the morning activity on the status of multinational relief operations in the Philippines participated in by Israel.
Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) devastated several provinces in the central Philippines, leaving thousands of casualties and homeless and injured victims in dire need of humanitarian aid which has been pouring from various parts of the world.
Israel was one of the first countries to extend assistance to the Philippines. A composite Israel Defense Forces medical and social service team is now operating in the province of Cebu.
Since its founding in 1948, BTJ has pursued its mission of turning young Jewish boys into young men with limitless futures. From Junior High through the college level, the three part curriculum at Boys Town - academic, technological and Torah - is designed to turn otherwise disadvantaged Israeli youth into productive citizens of tomorrow.
The campus, located on 18 acres in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem, is a home away from home for its more than 850 students. More than 6,200 graduates hold key positions throughout Israeli society.
It may be recalled that in 2011, BTJ became the first and only Israeli educational institution which honored the special relationship between Jews and Filipinos during the Holocaust when then Philippine President Manuel L Quezon offered 10,000 visas to European Jews who later found refuge in the Philippines.
BTJ, together with the Philippine Embassy, Israeli government officials, surviving Holocaust refugees and their families, unveiled the Philippine Marker at the Jan Zwartendijk Memorial Garden inside BTJ campus on March 14, 2011. END
