Nefesh B'Nefesh and "Friends of Dr. David Applebaum" have announced the formation of the Applebaum Fellowship, which will sponsor the Aliyah of ten physicians to Israel during the summer of 2004.



Nefesh B'Nefesh ( Jewish Souls United) is an organization dedicated to revitalizing North American Aliyah (immigration to Israel), while "Friends of Dr. David Applebaum" was formed after the murder of Dr. Applebaum and his daughter Naava in the Cafe Hillel terrorist attack in Jerusalem on September 9, 2003.



Dr. Applebaum was the director of Emergency Services at Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem and the founder of TEREM, a successful emergency medical care system that he both initiated and developed throughout Israel. His daughter Naava, who worked with cancer patients as part of her National Service, was talking with her father at Cafe Hillel the day before she was to be married.



The fellowship will involve a dollar-for-dollar matching sponsorship of over $180,000, which will be used to provide grants to subsidize the permanent move of ten doctors to Israel. Preference will be given to doctors with expertise in the field of emergency medicine. Partners of Israel Seed, a venture capital firm in Jerusalem, initiated the Applebaum Fellowship. United Israel Appeal - Canada has also been instrumental in facilitating the fellowship.



"The Applebaum Fellowship will continue the tradition and devotion of Dr. Applebaum to improving emergency medical services in Israel," explained Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, Director of Nefesh B'Nefesh. "Dr. Applebaum was himself an immigrant from the U.S. By bringing ten new experts in the field of emergency medicine to live and work as practicing physicians in Israel, we are responding to the terrorist attack at Cafe Hillel." Michael Eisenberg, a partner at Israel Seed, said, "We hope that others will join us in this very important project, which will bring more immigrants to Israel, improve local medical care and appropriately honor David and Naava Applebaum's memory."



For information on donating or applying, send email to "Applebaumgrant@nefeshbnefesh.org.il".