Australian rabbi loses everything in Sandy
WHEN superstorm Sandy hit America last week, Melbourne-born Rabbi Eli Goodman and his family lost all of their possessions.
WHEN superstorm Sandy hit America last week, Melbourne-born Rabbi Eli Goodman and his family lost all of their possessions.
Residents of Long Beach, less than 100 metres from the water’s edge, they returned to their apartment after the storm died down to find it flooded, full of sand and with everything ruined.
The Australian Jewish community, and people around the world, have come together to raise more than $30,000 for Rabbi Goodman, his wife Beila and their four children.
Beila’s sister Bracha Kantor, who lives in Melbourne, told The AJN this week that it was terrifying during the hurricane because she lost contact with her sister.
“For about 15 or 16 hours we were frantic because we didn’t hear anything from them,” Kantor said.
“Maybe 50 years ago we wouldn’t have panicked, but in today’s age, when we are used to constant communication, it was very scary.
“When we lost connectivity it’s hard not to imagine what is going on and then you imagine the most ridiculous situation, like a live wire in a puddle, even though you know it can’t be true because there was no electricity.”
When Kantor did hear from her sister, it was mixed news. The family were all fine but the apartment they lived in was ruined. “It isn’t livable,” Kantor said. “They went back and tried to salvage anything they could by sifting through the sand in the apartment, but it’s not a good situation.
“However, my sister and Eli don’t worry about themselves, they are both really positive and more worried about the rest of the community because that is the type of people that they are.”
Rabbi Goodman and his family weren’t the only Australians affected. One Melburnian, whose aunt lives in New York’s Oceanside district, told The AJN, “With electricity and phone lines both down, my biggest fear was not being able to contact my family, not knowing how badly they were affected by Sandy, not knowing whether they could leave their house or whether they were able to get supplies.
“It took days before we heard about their whereabouts. We heard their house was affected and had to move in with other family who weren’t as affected by the hurricane. The biggest pain was the waiting and not knowing. It will take some time before things will be back to normal.”
To donate to the fund for Rabbi Goodman, visit http://www.fundrazr.com/campaigns/9NaY9.
JOSHUA LEVI
The damage to Rabbi Eli Goodman and his family’s apartment from superstorm Sandy.
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