A moving maamad was held in Deal, New Jersey, at the home of noted philanthropist Mr. Jimmy Khezrie, drawing leading Gedolei Yisroel together with prominent local rabbanim in support of Keren Olam HaTorah. Among those present were Harav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a, Harav Dovid Cohen shlit”a, Harav Malkiel Kotler shlit”a, Rishon L’Tzion Harav Yitzchak Yosef shlit”a, and Harav Shlomo Kanievsky shlit”a.

The asifa highlighted the dire financial situation of yeshivos and kollelim in Eretz Yisroel, left reeling by deep government funding cuts. Emcee Rabbi David Haber framed the effort as nothing less than a battle for Torah itself. “This is a war — not with weapons, but to defend Torah,” he said. “Gedolei Torah have been on the road for over a week, utterly spent, not to save their own yeshivos, but for the kollelim in Ashdod, the avreichim in Beit Shemesh, and the Torah world across Eretz Yisroel. And we, baruch Hashem, have the chance to stand with them.”

Host Jimmy Khezrie, together with co-host Mr. Ezra Erani, spoke passionionately about the eternal value of Torah. “I used to wonder why Torah is called keneged kulam,” Mr. Khezrie said. “And now I understand — because without Torah, we don’t hold on to anything else. Torah has preserved our people for 3,000 years of war and exile. We’re not just supporting Torah — we’re preserving our survival.”

As the event drew on, an extraordinary scene unfolded. One after another, tomchei Torah rose before the Gedolim, pledging support for the mission to sustain Torah in Eretz Yisroel, as the Deal kehilla joined the global effort to uphold the foundation of Klal Yisroel.