Donors with goodwill support Jewish community in Surfside after building collapse

SURFSIDE, Fla. — A truck full of donations arrived at The Shul Jewish Community Center on Thursday afternoon after a nearby partial building collapse in Miami-Dade County’s town of Surfside.

A group met there to pray as the search-and-rescue operation continued where a portion of the L-shaped Chaplain Towers South collapsed at 8777 Collins Ave.

Shlomi Ezra, the owner of the Soho Asian Bar and Grill in Aventura, said that at first he wanted to bring food to the friends and families who were waiting for updates in anguish.

“We realized that there was so much food over there, so we got the community together to help to help with other things,” Ezra said. “People lost everything.”

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said there were 99 Chaplain Towers residents unaccounted for and 102 survivors. Rabbi Sholom D. Lipskar said some of the 99 attended The Shul regularly.

The list includes Nancy Kress Levin, Jay Kleinman, Frankie Kleinman, Arie Leib, Yisroel Tzvi Yosef, and Tzvi Doniel.

“There are very few words that could give anybody consolation because you are dealing with an unimaginable, horrific tragedy,” Lipskar said.

By Thursday evening, the center at 9540 Collins Ave., had run out of space to store all of the emergency supplies. The Shul set up a fund for financial online donations and an emergency hotline at 305-868-1411.