A charity for Israel’s most vulnerable children launched a memorial scholarship dedicated to murdered British Israeli citizen Jake Marlowe at its annual dinner in central London this week.
Youth Aliyah Child Rescue invited Michael and Lisa Marlowe, parents of the 26-year old killed at the Nova Festival on 7 October 2023, to address three hundred guests at the event, which raised £500k.
The 91-year old charity helps children from across the world to overcome challenging pasts and become integral members of Israeli society.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog delivered a personal message to highlight the historic and ongoing impact of the organisation, saying: “For decades Youth Aliyah Child Rescue has engaged in the work of cultivating our Jewish nation state, reaching outstretched arms to Israel’s most vulnerable at Youth Villages throughout the country. Young people on the margins of Israeli society have been offered a path to find their way back.”
Youth Aliyah Child Rescue Trustees, March 2025. (C) Blake Ezra Photography
He added that the Villages have been lifelines for these young people: “They have left enormous imprints on Israeli society. there is no question we can only thrive as a society and as a people when no one is left behind.”
(C) Blake Ezra Photography 2025
Charity chairman Melvin Robinson said: “Our children don’t have families who can adequately support them, so they live in our Youth Villages – places of comfort, education, and healing.”
The first recipient of the Jake Marlowe Memorial Scholarship is Awaka Melisa, an Ethiopian Israeli from TOM Youth Village, who will receive support to pursue his music industry dreams, ensuring Jake Marlowe’s legacy of passion for music continues to inspire.
