Some of you know me well, some may not remember me.
My name is Ephraim Rosenstein. I live in Israel and have independent income. I am not asking anything for myself.
I am addressing you on behalf of a group of selfless and dedicated people who volunteer for Honenu (literally in Hebrew – “have mercy on us”). I never send emails like this, and hopefully won’t, but this time Honenu is in true and genuine need.
Honenu is the only organization in Israel that provides legal defense in Israeli court system to countless innocent citizens and soldiers who defended their lives and lives of those next to them against Islamist terrorists, or of people like you and me who happened to be victims of a terrorist attack and “dared” to fight back and stay alive. More often than not, these people are subjected to prolonged pretrial detentions and interrogations, or to sentence and jail.
I myself was subjected to number of terrorist attacks, and was wounded in one of them.
Just to demonstrate the point, here is an example of how it works in Israel -Israeli law stipulates very intricate rules of combat engagement: If you see a person with Molotov cocktail ready to throw it at your car, you can shoot but not to kill, but if he already threw it and it’s in midair, you can’t shoot, and if it turned out to be not a Molotov cocktail but a rock, you can’t shoot anyway. And then you need to prove all of the above under interrogation.
Now imagine the situation when you drive by with your children in a car, suddenly you see the road is blocked and you are surrounded by a mob that is ready to lynch you, and then you see somebody raise a hand with something in it, and you have to make this choice in a split second – is it a rock or a Molotov, did he throw it already or he is only going to, will I be able to prove in interrogation that he was close enough so that he presented genuine danger, and on top of all this – will I succeed to get my kids out of it alive?
<h3 dir=”ltr”>I must say, this is an impossible dilemma to grapple when you need to give all you have to the effort to save yourself and others.</h3>
The Fogel family from Itamar, may their memory be blessed, is an example of what it looks like when Jews are afraid to win and terrorists can walk away from most horrendous crimes with impunity.
I personally know the people who run Honenu, and I used to volunteer for them in the past. They are outstanding people. They are pleading for help. Due to a precarious situation in Israel and an impending Third Intifada, there is an avalanche of new cases of judicial persecution against Jews who are forced to defend themselves. Honenu needs your help to help others.
Every penny you contribute goes directly to the cause – defending Jews that defend all of us. What matters here is not the organization, but the lives of people who, after they won in the combat, have one more battle to win – in the court:
Give it few moments, and try to be generous please.
Donation information can be found at
It’s important for me to emphasize this point: nobody (including myself, obviously) gets any cut here. 100% of your money goes to those you want to help.
If you know somebody who you think can help, please do the mitzvah of “Pidyon Shevuim” (redemption of the imprisoned) and forward this message.
Should we all be blessed with great Purim and Pesach – one representing how we were “successful slaves” to Achashverosh and ultimately to God, and the other one – how we became a nation free to serve God and conquer the Land He promised us and our fathers.
Should you be blessed,
Ephraim Rosenstein