FAU Campus Aliyah Fellowship Member Holds Event to Honor Comrade

While the large majority of college students are fortunate enough to go through college without loosing a friend, others  are not. Meira Kreuter, a senior at FAU, was not as lucky.

Kreuter is an active member of an organization called Campus Aliyah Fellowship whose purpose is to find Jewish students. According to their website, they work to build the state of Israel by bringing 3 million Jews home, to Israel, and secure a successful integration. Aliyah Fellowships currently has 17 "fellows" across the country.

Kreuter was recently informed of a former Aliyah fellows death after a recent visit to South Florida. Kreuter's friend, Avi Schaefer, had been killed by a drunk driver while walking home from a party at Brown University.

Schaefer was no ordinary friend of Kreuter's. Schaefer decided to join the Israeli Army in a Combat Unit and eventually he became a counter terrorist instructor and served for three years. Later he moved to Providence, RI to attend Brown University where he became a stand-out member of the Aliyah Fellowship.

Prior to his death he made a huge impact on many of the students he met and was always working to promote living in Israel. Kreuter said, "He was an inspiration to all of us. We work to get other Jewish students to move to Israel and he had already done it. We all looked up to him."

Shortly after his death Kreuter held a benefit at FAU named "Seek Peace and Pursue It," a quote, from the book of Psalms, found on his dorm wall after his death. This event was intended to continue his dreams of creating an environment on campuses that promotes peace in the Middle East and coexistence.

The event was primarily a discussion of what we, as FAU students, could do to bring a more positive atmosphere on campus regarding issues in the Middle East. The event also helped raise money for the Avi Schaefer Fund. Kreuter said, "The fund will help continue his dreams of raising awareness on campuses and also help other lone soldiers in the Israeli Army."

To learn more about these people, try these links:

• Brown University News Paper Article
• Schaefer Facebook Memorial Page
• The Avi Schaefer Fund
• Campus ALIYAH Fellowship
• More about what Aliyah does...