Rabbi Billet dedicates plaque at Beit Halochem

On his second visit to Jerusalem’s Beit Halochem rehabilitation center this year, Rabbi Hershel Billet and three of his Israeli grandsons unveiled a plaque honoring donors from the Five Towns community.

On July 7, they toured the center with its manager, Herzl Morad. While there, they visited a new wing with a state of the art new fitness hall, a Pilates studio, a billiard hall and a table-tennis-multiple purpose room.

Billet, rav of the Young Israel of Woodmere, presented a donation of $5,000 from the Young Israel of Woodmere for programs for the disabled Israeli veterans. The plaque read “In Honor of The Participants and Sponsors of the FIDV “5 Towns 5K Run/Walk” Nassau County, New York for their Ongoing Support to Zahal Disabled Veterans Organization and Beit Halochem.”

“Beit Halochem assists all wounded IDF veterans and their families,” Rabbi Billet wrote to The Jewish Star by email from Israel.

“They are independent and receive no direct funding from FIDF (Friends of the Israel Defense Force). They do wonderful compassionate work for disabled veterans with love and compassion. They just expanded their Jerusalem center. They are not a YIW project although we support it. They are a project of the Five Towns Jewish community. I just represented the entire community” at the request of race director Isaac Seinuk.