Helping Needy Residents in Tiberias Through Kupat Yedidut

The Fellowship  |  June 13, 2017

With an estimated 20 percent of Israelis living below the poverty line, The Fellowship established Kupat Yedidut, or the Fellowship Fund, to start helping needy residents in Tiberias and other cities to support individuals and families with their basic needs. Most of these cities are so special to both Christians and Jews for their biblical and spiritual significance, yet so many residents there live in desperate poverty.

When Yael Eckstein made a visit to the Sea of Galilee whose shores reach the holy city of Tiberias, one of the cities we support through Kupat Yedidut, she talked of how important it is to support the needy people living in these holy cities. “Both Jews and Christians have a shared history in Tiberias. And when The Fellowship‘s donors come together in unity with the Jewish people, we send a message to the people of Tiberias that the city’s holiness is not only felt within the city, but also in the hearts of Jews and Christians around the world.”

In Tiberias, the Kupat Yedidut program funds dentist visits for the elderly whose teeth are falling out, home appliances for single mothers, winter clothes for children, and deliver monthly food cards to needy families and individuals.

The Fellowship feels so privileged to help the needy in Tiberias, as it is a place of miracles for both Christians and Jews. Yael continues: “As I walked along the shoreline, I saw groups of hundreds of Christians coming to visit the spot where according to Christian tradition, Jesus walked on water.

“This site is a holy place for Jews, too. When the Israelites traveled in the desert after leaving Egypt, they needed water to drink. They were given a stone, which they named Miriam’s Well, that would trickle out water for them to drink. When they no longer needed the drinking rock, Jewish tradition holds that the rock was buried in the Sea of Galilee,” said Yael.

Each time our donors support The Fellowship‘s Kupat Yedidut program, it shows us how much you care about the biblical cities of Israel and the Jewish people in need.