JDC Aids Christchurch Earthquake Victims
In addition to lost property, damaged homes, and businesses, the Jewish community’s synagogue was damaged and the Chabad House was destroyed by the 6.3 earthquake that struck on February 22nd.
Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city, is located in the Canterbury Province which is home to 600 Jews. Jewish settlement in the region dates back to the early 1860’s.
image: a non-Jewish police officer salvaged two Torah scrolls from the ruins of the Chabad-Lubavitch center in downtown Christchurch; courtesy chabad.org