Rabbi Dov Lando, the leader of the Lithuanian Haredi public, called on Diaspora Jews to mobilize in support of yeshivas and kollels in Israel, against the backdrop of the suspension of some government funding for yeshivas.
Lando traveled to the United States to raise funds for Keren Olam HaTorah, a non-profit organization supporting yeshivas and kollels in Israel.
“We are going from place to place to make the cry of the Torah heard,” he told the thousands in attendance at a rally held in Monsey, New York. According to him, wherever the fund’s leaders go, they encounter Jews who are pained by the situation of Torah students in Israel. “There is no Jew in the world who is not pained by the decrees against Torah students in the Land of Israel,” he said.
Haredi rabbinic leaders have traveled to make their pitch to U.S. cities and states including Florida; Lakewood,New Jersey; Brooklyn; Chicago; and Baltimore.
Lando said that even in the hours before the start of Shabbat, Jews “from all circles and communities” gathered to hear about the distress facing the Torah world. “There is no Jew whose heart is warm toward the Torah and those who study it who does not ask himself: What can I do for the Torah students in the Land of Israel?” he said in his speech.
During his remarks, Lando praised the donors who have already joined the effort. He said there are “righteous Jews” who are contributing especially large sums to the fund. “They have the means, and they are giving enormous donations to Keren Olam HaTorah, donations the likes of which have not been seen in such a wondrous way,” the leader of the Lithuanian Haredi public said.
At the same time, he also appealed to the wider public and called on everyone to donate according to their ability. “There are those who do not have the ability to give large sums, and they too ask themselves what they can do for the Torah students who are in distress in the Land of Israel,” he said. “Everyone must make an effort and give according to his ability and beyond his ability to Keren Olam HaTorah, and no one should give less than the support of at least one kollel student.”
The organization's website claims that it receives pledges totaling over $6 million a month, which it says is half of the amount it requires to support all the needs of the yeshivas.
Lando also promised that support for the fund would not cause donors any financial loss. “Whoever gives to Keren Olam HaTorah will not lose, but will gain double and more,” he said. “May it be God’s will that we all be blessed from heaven with life, that we should have love of Torah and fear of heaven.”
Keren Olam HaTorah was established in 2024 at the initiative of senior Haredi leaders and benefactors from the United States, following rulings and decisions that led to a significant cut in budgets transferred to some yeshivas and kollels. The fund’s goal is to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from donors around the world to help finance Torah institutions in Israel and reduce the budgetary damage caused by the crisis over the conscription of yeshiva students. Since its establishment, the fund has held a series of fundraising trips around the world and raised significant sums for yeshivas.