COLUMBIA, — Conflicting reports are spreading from Israel and Palestine surrounding who ordered an evacuation at Gaza's largest hospital.
The Al Shifa hospital in Gaza is left with only a skeleton crew to care for those unable to evacuate. Israel claimed Hamas is operating there, but it's under pressure to provide evidence for those claims.
Closer to home, a Missouri man lost his son during the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7. Some Jewish fraternity brothers from the University of Missouri made sure he wasn't grieving alone.
The three Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) brothers from Mizzou were home in Chesterfield for Thanksgiving break. Over a month before, they participated in a funeral ritual for a man they'd never met.
"Here in America, it's kind of hard to help out in some ways," said Adam Kaiser, a junior at Mizzou in AEPi. "So any way that we could figure out how to help, we're willing to do it."
Driving more than three hours south of Columbia, nearly 20 Mizzou AEPi brothers made the trip to Branson on Oct. 9.
Their Jewish fraternity president learned about the grieving father, Ariel Peso.
"More sadness than I had ever felt because I can't imagine what this guy is going through," said AEPi sophomore Ryan Kline after hearing the news. "Not only that, but he's all alone in Branson where there is not a huge Jewish community."
In the Jewish faith, sitting shiva means eating and telling stories about those who passed. However, a few things were missing from the prayer circle, called a minyan.
"To have a minyan, which is a group of 10 people in Judaism who say a prayer, it's not just when somebody dies," said Brian Schenberg, another Mizzou AEPi sophomore. "Jewish prayers are usually said in a group of 10 making it a minyan. He didn't have 10 people to be part of the minyan with him."
All three of the AEPi brothers are Parkway Central High School graduates. Klein and Schenberg have known each other since preschool. They say this chapter of their college years is one of the most meaningful.
"It's hard enough losing someone, let alone your so,n in a horrible act like what just happened," Klein said. "Then to be alone. Putting yourself in those shoes. It really is upsetting. So we really wanted to get down there and knew that he had a community surrounding him."
The Chesterfield natives said if you're interested in helping Israel, consider donating to an organization like the Jewish Federal of St. Louis or the Jewish National Fund.
Mizzou AEPi will also be holding its own philanthropic endeavor to support the American Cancer Society this spring. Rock-a-thon is every two years and is scheduled for April 2024. It is considered one of the largest fraternity fundraisers in the country, raising $190,000 for cancer research and education in 2022 through street canning and a fraternity brother rocking in a chair for 63 hours straight.
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