Our Latest Emergency Aid for Rocket-Torn Israel
The Fellowship | May 18, 2021
The Holy Land was under attack in what was the worst escalation of hostilities since the 2014 Gaza conflict, Operation Protective Edge. More than 4,300 rockets rained down on Israel.
“We immediately approved security measures like bomb shelters and protective vests to address the most pressing needs,” said Fellowship President and CEO Yael Eckstein, who approached it “as a humanitarian crisis. Many of Israel’s citizens are effectively refugees in their own country, living out of bomb shelters without access to basic needs like food.”
The Fellowship partnered with Ashkelon, the most targeted city in Israel, to provide 2,000 meals to people in bomb shelters. In addition, The Fellowship provided hundreds of food cards to affected citizens in southern Israel – in the towns of Ashkelon, Ashdod, Sderot, and Netivot.
Additionally, The Fellowship placed 13 bomb shelters in Ashkelon, as well as seven shelters in Sderot and surrounding areas. We also provided 25 protective vests to security teams in Ashkelon.
Thankfully, your support for and solidarity with Israel – God’s precious people – tell them they are not alone even when surrounded by enemies.
Together, we:
- Delivered food to Israelis forced to take cover in bomb shelters.
- Provided food to the most vulnerable elderly and called all of our With Dignity and Fellowship recipients to check on their safety.
- Visited public bomb shelters and delivered food and support to families forced to take cover during the violence and unrest, as well as delivered activity kits for families with special-needs children.
- Provided emergency protective vests and other essential equipment for security teams in areas most vulnerable, like Ashkelon and Sderot near the border with Gaza.
- Checked in with new olim (immigrants), many of whom had never experienced attacks like these.
- Protected Israelis with the thousands of Fellowship-funded bomb shelters put to use, and provided a safe haven for Israelis under fire.
While we pray that the ceasefire holds in Israel, our holy work does not stop. The pain and trauma of Israel’s most vulnerable continue, as do their basic needs. Your gift today can help provide these basic needs like food and medicine for vulnerable Jews and displaced Israelis with nowhere else to turn.
With events changing rapidly in the Holy Land, keep up-to-date on our Stand for Israel blog.