June 9th, '03
Mike's Place - One Month Later

Today's headline in Maariv is "Blood on the Roadmap". Five Jews been killed in terror attacks since the Aqaba summit, but really, why is anyone surprised? Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, who got so many points for "feeling the pain" of the Jews, now says that his too-conciliatory statements were misunderstood. Moreover, he now says outright that he will not crack down on the terror gangs under any circumstances, and that Arafat is still very much in charge.

The constant reports about "raised alerts" and "attempted infiltrations" - in the context of American pressure to further endanger our lives - have put me into sensory overload. Unable to fathom, much less control what's going on, I treat the news as just so much white noise. Life goes on.

But for many, many people, life will never be the same. That's why I want you to read this letter from Gavin Gross, of Mike's Place in Tel Aviv. Please, pass it on.

Dear All,

Its now almost a month since the terror attack. Many of you have been so supportive and I am writing to thank you for the so many kind words that you have sent to the Mikes Place Family and the generous donations so far received.

As you know we are looking forward... Not to say that we forget anything, many of us are still traumatized and trying to come to terms with our 'new' lives after the event, but we are trying to do so in a positive way. Since the attack we have established a fund called the 'Life After Terror Fund'. This is now in the process of being formalized as a charity, and all funds so far donated will be moved to the Life After Terror Fund once it is fully registered.

The bar, which was re-opened a week after the event is busier that ever. Moreover we have co-ordinated fund raising events as follows: Toronto: 9th June; London, New York & Tel Aviv: 28th June; Chicago: To be announced (probably 28th June). The full details of the events can be seen on the Mikes Homepage at: www.mikesplacebars.com

The fund is ticking along quite well, however we are still way short of having enough money to make a difference for the victims. Avi is out of hospital but still has a long way to go to recover, Steve is Paralized for life from the neck down and on a breathing machine for life. His family of course are shattered. He is a work out freak and a shooting instructor in the Police Force. He has 4 children who are not provided for as he will never work again, and naturally he is in a terrible state - the realization that he will never move again or breathe alone... and many others in a bad state which has changed their lives forever. The above are just 2 examples!

Barry Gilbert, a member of the Mikes Place Family (who wrote hit songs for Annie Lennox in the past) has written a beautiful song which we will soon be selling through the web site. This is a called 'Time Will Change Everything', and the proceeds will of course go directly into the fund.

Around a week ago we were interviewed for a site called www.israelnationalnews.com . If you go to the link http://www.israelnn.com/tv.php and then click the screen 'Overcoming The Shock of Terror' you will see a very good report on what we have been doing since the attack began. I am featured speaking about the fund, as is Barry who talks about his song and Downtown Dave - one of the Barmen who Im sure many of you will know. You will need Mindows Media Player 9 to view this report.

As I mentioned we are still a very long way from our target, but at least we have been able to deal with all the events mentioned above and we feel that we are certainly moving on a positive track. Once again thank you all for your donations to date. If anyone reading this would still like to help the victims and their families, the details of the fund can be seen on the WebSite (www.mikesplacebars.com).

PLEASE can you forward this to everyone on your respective contact lists...

Best Wishes to you all,

Gavin
Gavin M. Gross
(Life After Terror Fund)

tel: +972 54 544 245

e-mail: gavin@gavinmgross.com

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