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World Jewish News
Bar mitzvah boy gives Sderot $40,000 playground
11.08.2009
A 13-year-old from New York has decided to give $40,000 he received from his parents for his bar mitzvah to the children of Sderot. The municipality says the money will go to build a park with recreational facilities.
Although Sderot's municipal workers are currently on vacation, they turned up to thank the boy, Benjamin Sternklar Davis, at a festive reception.
Sternklar Davis, who has reached manhood according to age-old Jewish tradition, celebrated the event in the area that his gift will help transform to a park. In addition to the religious ceremony, the celebration featured young talents from Sderot performing on stage.
"I felt bad during the war for the children of Sderot who had to go to school and come back with the constant thought they could be hit by a Qassam rocket at any given second," the boy said.
Sderot Mayor David Buskila gave Sternklar Davis a decorated prayer shawl as a token of his appreciation. Stenklar Davis' link to Sderot began last year, when Buskila visited the U.S. through the Jewish Agency and met with Jewish donors, including the boy's mother, Sarah Sternklar, founder of Moms for Israel: A Campaign for Sderot.
Benjamin Sternklar Davis was very concerned about the children of Sderot, says his mother. "Benjamin kept asking me how the children in Sderot were doing during the war," his mother said. "He wanted to know how they were coping. He could have given it [the bar mitzvah money] to any organization, but he chose Sderot."
Buskila said Sternklar Davis will be the first person to use the park when it is constructed.
By Yanir Yagna
Источник: Haaretz
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