A New Home in the Holy Land

Sophie, an elderly Jew from the former Soviet Union, has known more than her share of hardship. But, through it all, she has always held on to the hope of a better life. Twenty-five years ago, Sophie and her family lived under communist rule in Ukraine. Jews were under the constant threat of anti-Semitic persecution by the government and Sophie and her husband knew that the only way to ensure their children’s future was to come to Israel.

Leaving a communist country is not easy, but somehow Sophie escaped to Israel with her boys. Her husband was not so lucky the government forced him to stay. Though heartbroken, Sophie knew she had done the right thing for her children. She settled in Jerusalem, and supported the family by working in a furniture store, a job she held until age 65 when the store went bankrupt, another victim of Israel’s economic and security crisis.

Sophie's sole source of income is now a small government pension that gives her barely enough to pay rent. Luckily, she discovered the Chasdei Yosef Soup Kitchen, funded by The Fellowship’s Guardians of Israel program, which provides free meals to hundreds of needy Israelis every day. Here, Sophie receives a hot, nourishing meal, as well as the companionship of soup kitchen workers and other elderly Israelis. Were it not for this help, Sophie might have lived out her later years in poverty and isolation. Sophie knows these nutritious meals are provided through the generosity of our Guardians of Israel.

"Thank God for this soup kitchen and all the people who make it possible," she says. "People who give assistance to those who need help are doing God’s work. I’m sure of this. That is what the Bible teaches."

Your gifts to Guardians of Israel provide people like Sophie with food, housing, medical care, clothing, and other essentials. Please give today to help desperate Israelis with nowhere else to turn and claim for yourself the blessing promised those who bless God’s children (Genesis 12:3).