Seventy Torah scrolls were donated to the Israeli Defense Ministry by Mizrachi Canada from Jewish communities around Canada, in memory of the fallen soldiers of the IDF. The Torah scrolls are being brought to Israel after they had not been used in those communities, and are being given to synagogues at IDF bases all over the country. The Nathanson and Kanterovitz families from Canada, who donated a Torah scroll that will go to the synagogue at the naval officers' base in Akko, met with Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan in his office this week in Tel Aviv. "It is very exciting to see this contribution of Diaspora Jewry to the memory of the fallen soldiers of the IDF," Ben Dahan said. "It is a great privilege that these Torah scrolls will be used in places where soldiers who gave their lives for the people and land of Israel lived. "I congratulate the Nathanson and Kanterovitz families who donated the scroll, and hope that we will be able to continue bringing more Torah scrolls to the land of Israel and place them in synagogues throughout the country," added the Deputy Minister of Defense. Uri Dopelt, who is behind the “Oz Vehadar” Torah donation project, said: "As part of the project, we connect between communities abroad that donate unused Torah scrolls, private individuals who wish to dedicate Torah scrolls in memory of their loved ones, and communities, IDF bases or memorial projects in Israel that need Torah scrolls. The scrolls that are no longer in use are corrected and made ‘kosher’ again and are revived by returning them to use, thus providing hope and memory to the families of the fallen or terror victims throughout the country. "In the course of the project, more than 100 Torah scrolls have been put into use in recent years, and we are looking forward to other partners who are interested in enlisting and dedicating Torah scrolls,” Dopelt said. Torah donation Yoni Kempinski
