Israel
Over £150,000 raised in memory of murdered Dee family
The slain mother and sisters' Israeli town hopes to build a youth centre, spring, and 'simcha hall'
April 21, 2023 13:23
The slain mother and sisters' Israeli town hopes to build a youth centre, spring, and 'simcha hall'
April 21, 2023 13:23Over £150,000 has been donated to fund communal projects in memory of Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia and Rina two weeks after they were killed in a terror attack.
The British-Israeli family members were driven off the road by Palestinian gunmen before 20 bullets were fired into their car as they drove through the West Bank.
The trio had been travelling from the Efrat settlement, south of Jerusalem, where they had lived since making aliyah in 2014.
A charitable foundation established by the town has now launched a campaign to raise £1.4 million in their name. If successful, the money will be put towards building three projects.
The "Rina Dee Youth Center" will provide a home for the Ezra youth movement, the "Maia Dee Spring" will commemorate the 20-year-old's love of nature, while the "Lucy Dee Simcha Hall" will allow the community to celebrate together.
After the Dee family moved to Efrat from London they "immediately became an integral part of the community," the fundraising page notes.
"Their deaths have left the Efrat community devastated," it adds.
"We are determined to honor their memories."
Lucy, Maia and Rina are survived by Rabbi Leo Dee, their husband and father respectively, and siblings Yehuda, Tali and Keren.
Sitting shiva in the family’s home in the settlement of Efrat, the rabbi told the JC he “only felt a cycle of love.”
“There has been a huge hug from Am Yisrael. Our community here is bringing food in abundance and every time we sit down to eat there are at least five people on stand-by in the room carrying plates to the table and taking them away when we have finished."
Earlier this week, Honorary President of Conservative Friends of Israel, Lord Polak, and Lord Ahmad, Minister of State for the Middle East, visited the grieving family’s shiva at their home in St John’s Wood.
Speaking to the JC, Lord Ahmad, who is the Minister of State for the Middle East, said: “Rabbi Dee and the entire family has I think been a great inspiration and source of strength to many of us in government.
"The rabbi’s powerful message of feeling only sorrow for those who harbour so much hate has really resonated with myself, Rishi and others."