JAFI gives aid to family of non-Jewish Burgas victim

Jewish group uses funds to show solidarity with Mustafa Kyosov; Ya'alon speaks at memorial ceremony in Sofia synagogue.

By GIL STERN STERN SHEFLER
Burgas Memorial (R370) (photo credit: REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov)
Burgas Memorial (R370)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov)
Jewish organizations on Tuesday offered financial help to the family of a non-Jewish Bulgarian bus driver killed in a terror attack that targeted Israeli tourists in Burgas last month.
The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) announced at a ceremony in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia that it will include the family of Mustafa Kyosov among recipients of aid from the Fund for the Victims of Terror.
Speaking at the central synagogue in Sofia, Moshe Sharet, a JAFI emissary in Bulgaria, said the $1,500 grant was given to Kyosovs to "ease their financial struggles and show the solidarity of the Jewish people with their loss."
Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon also spoke at the ceremony on Tuesday, commenting that  "dozens were injured simply because they were Jews and Israelis."
Ya'alon continued: "Every victim represents an entire world, a life story cut short, dreams that will not be fulfilled."
"Terrorism does not distinguish between blood and blood, and from person to person. Killers try to reach any place in the world to attack innocent Jews and Israelis, and would not hesitate to kill anyone who stood in their way when they implement their actions."
An unidentified suicide bomber detonated himself on a bus carrying Israel vacationers in the Bulgarian seaside resort on July 19, killing six people including Kyosov. Israel has accused Hezbollah and its ally Iran of carrying out the attack.
The terror victims fund created by the Jewish Federations of North America and operated by JAFI has given over NIS 100 million to families of victims and survivors of attacks in Israel and around the world. The grant given to the Kyosovs was made possible through a special donation by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.