Chasidic group Belz campaigns to raise £4 million in a single day

One of the largest Chasidic groups has mounted an international campaign to raise £4 million in a single day in aid of its educational institutions in Israel.

The leaders of Belz appealed to supporters across the world to contribute during a 30-hour campaign launched on Monday afternoon.

They said the institutions were in an “extremely precarious financial position”, which was “largely due to the current volatile world economic situation, which is particularly so in Israel, where the financial conditions are especially tough”.

One Belz leader in Britain said he had undertaken to raise £36,000 before the Tuesday evening deadline.