MINNEAPOLIS (JTA) — The tiny Jewish community in Grand Forks, N.D., has been hit hard by recent flooding in the Red River Valley.
The entire city, including some 50 Jewish families, was forced to evacuate as a result of the natural disaster that struck before Passover.
B’nai Israel Synagogue, the only Jewish institution in Grand Forks, suffered some damage to its library, basement and social hall.
But the sanctuary, prayer books and Torah scrolls are intact, Robin Silverman, president of the 58-year-old Reform synagogue, reported to the Union of American Hebrew Congregations this week.
Passover seders were coordinated by Col. Daniel Halpern, a Jewish officer stationed at the Grand Forks Air Force Base. Some 15 Jewish individuals are stationed at the Air Force base.
About 30 Jewish families have gone in and out of the shelter set up at the base, moving between there and friends’ homes.
“Many have left the Grand Forks area,” said Jay Tcath, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
The JCRC’s disaster relief committee has been heading to area flood sites in “dire need of clean-up assistance” for the past few weekends.
“There are Jewish families here willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure that people have a seder to attend,” Tcath wrote before Passover in a letter to a JCRC board member who lives in Grand Forks.
“Amidst all that has happened and all that lied ahead, we hope that the uplifting, joyous, and sweet messages of Pesach resonate for your community and can mark a new beginning.”
National Jewish organizations also are responding to the crisis.
The Council of Jewish Federations has asked all federations to open mail boxes to accept donations for flood victims throughout the Midwestern region of the United States as well as in Canada, where flood waters were expected to hit in Winnipeg, Manitoba, shortly.
CJF Disaster Relief Fund is located at 730 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.
In addition, a nonsectarian disaster relief fund set up by B’nai B’rith’s Center for Community Action to help Midwest flood victims is aiding Grand Forks and other affected communities. Donations should be sent to B’nai B’rith, 1640 Rhode Island Ave., Washington, DC 20036.
The UAHC Disaster Fund also is accepting donations. Its address is UAHC, 838 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10021.