My name is Philip Rosenthal. I made Aliyah 5-1/2 years ago with my family. Because I truly believe in giving back to my community, I decided to become a volunteer with Magav. Magav is the Israel Police Border Guard. There are approximately 110 of us in our unit. We are assigned a patrol area that is roughly 10 square miles. For those geographically minded, we are just east of the port city of Ashdod and about fifteen miles north of Gaza (in the news a lot lately).The other volunteers are composed of just about every kind of person out there. Fathers, Mothers, farmers, doctors, lawyers, painters, you name it. We all have one purpose. We want to do something productive whilst helping our respective communities.
Our duties are as follows: general patrolling of the area. We are specifically charged with watching for agricultural theft (lots of farmland around us), livestock theft (a very serious issue), farm equipment theft (tractors, etc.), vehicle theft and burgalries and of course terrorist infiltration. The full-time paid police are too short staffed to be able to cover all of that and therefore we are able to offload some of that burden. It is sometimes terribly boring and other times overwhelmingly rewarding such as catching thieves in the middle of trying to steal 36 newborn calves.
Here is our challenge and the reason that I am making this appeal to you. Although the police furnish us with basic uniforms, they do not have the budget to provide us with the proper defensive gear needed to protect ourselves. On any giventour of duty, we have one walkie-talkie to share amongst ourselves. This is simply dangerous. If there is a serious event (more on that in a moment). we have no bullet proof vests or kevlar helmets. Unless we bring our own flashlights, we cannot see in the dark.
Most of our volunteers do this to protect their familes and homes, to serve the community, and some just because they really look cool in uniform. No matter their reasons, everyone does it with a smile. Some of our volunteers have been active for more than 15-20 years. It is really quite amazing. And this is just in our local area. Across the country there are hundreds and hundreds more volunteers. This appeal is for our local group.In spite of this, all of us continue to volunteer and show up with smiles on our faces. We feel an immense responsibility to watch over each other and our communities.
No one asks for anything. We are glad to participate. But imagine what a morale booster it would be if everyone knew that they had a reliable radio, flashlight, helmet and vest. That is why we are appealing to all of you to reach into your hearts and let your feelings and love for the Holyland and its people guide you to showing your generosity and partnering with us to procure these vital lifesaving tools.
We want you to know that 100% of the funds donated will go towards these purchases. There will not be ANY overhead costs involved. No managment fees, nothing. Of course, the platform that handles these fundraisers takes a small processing fee, but WE DON'T take anything!
We are looking to buy the following hopefully (so far we have only been able to buy 7 vests and helmets)
100 Kevlar helmets
100 Bullet-proof vests
100-125 High-power flashlights
If there any funds left over, we will use that money to buy extra equipment. EVERY penny goes for this equipment. No parties, no nothing. Just the equipment.
We do ask one small favor. Whether you donate small or large, every penny counts. But our success will come from each of you forwarding this to your friends and associates so that they, too can partner in this vital project. We cannot wait to send out updates to everyone with pictures of our new equipment and the joyous faces of of everyone who will benefit from your generosity.
Please help this worthy cause.
Thank you and my G-d bless you abundantly.
UPDATE
As you may now have heard, we are at war with Hizballah and Hamas. This is not a joke! As of now over 1,200 people have been murdered by these terrorists and almost 3,000 injured. They have indescriminately taken the lives of elderly, children, and average civilians. Hostages have been taken and the raping and mutilation of females.
This is an urgent situation. Our volunteers are required to go out into this war and provide defensive protection, but we just do not have the equipment to do so safely.
One bulletproof vest and helmet costs $1,200. Our unit alone has 110 members. We need at least 100 sets.
Please find it in your hearts to help. It is really dire. The situation is extremely tense and there is talk about it escalating to multiple fronts now.
Thank you and may G-d bless you.
