November 30, 2008 / 3 Kislev 5769

Norma Shvarzblat Rabinovich, a Mexican citizen, was slated to make aliyah tomorrow (Monday, December 1) to Israel and join her two children who have already immigrated to Israel from Mexico.
Over the past few months Norma toured India, with a view towards making aliyah at the end of the trip.  She established contact with the Jewish Agency delegation in Mumbai, and was planning to fly to Israel tomorrow, in anticipation of the 18th birthday of her son Manuel, who had made aliyah to Israel two months ago.

Norma, a 50-year-old divorcee, had three children:  Jean aged 24, a student living in Tel Aviv, who made aliyah to Israel in December 2004, Manuel aged 18, who as mentioned made aliyah two months ago and is studying at the "Hadrat Melech" yeshiva in Bnei Brak, and one other daughter, Orly, who lives with her father in Mexico.

Over the last couple of weeks Norma Shvarzblat Rabinovich visited the Jewish Agency delegation in Mumbai a number of times.   There are about 4500 Jews living in India, about 85% of them in the Mumbai region.

Last night the Jewish Agency decided to transfer to the families of the murder victims in the Mumbai atrocity, support funds from the Special Fund for supporting terror victims.  The support funds will be transferred immediately to the family members of Jews and Israelis murdered in the terror attack.  Zeev Bielski the Chairman of the Jewish Agency, says that the fund's resources were raised by the United Jewish Communities of North America (UJC) and by the Jewish Federations and Keren Hayesod and are intended to exemplify the sense of mutual responsibility that epitomizes the Jewish people as well as Jewish Agency support for Jews who are injured by terror attacks against Israeli targets.

The fund was established in the year 2000, and since then over 100 million shekels on aggregate have been transferred to thousands of terror victims and their families.  The Jewish Agency transferred monies from the fund to Israeli terror victims who were injured in terrorist attacks on Israeli soil as well as to Jewish families of terror victims in attacks against Israeli targets throughout the world.