The city of Petah Tikva in central Israel is home to elderly beneficiaries of The Fellowship, most of whom are Holocaust survivors. These residents relied on Fellowship support for poverty relief long before the conflict with Iran began. Now, as central Israel and cities across the Holy Land face ongoing Iranian rocket threats and frequent strikes, many elderly residents have been left without caregivers or are unable to reach bomb shelters on their own.
Fellowship staff visited Petah Tikva last week to deliver cooked meals to elderly residents. They also visited the homes of four Holocaust survivors. When staff first arrived, sirens began sounding. They were about to visit the home of 86-year-old Holocaust survivor Naum and his wife, Alexandra. The group rushed to the nearest bomb shelter, but Naum and Alexandra were not inside. Once the all-clear was given, the staff went up to Naum’s apartment and found them alive, but shaken.
Thankfully, no rockets landed nearby. The elderly couple could not leave their apartment because Alexandra was in bed recovering from surgery. The meals Fellowship staff placed in their refrigerator will last for more than a week.
Staff then visited 87-year-old Irina at the senior residence where she lives. As a child growing up in Ukraine, she and her family were evacuated to Siberia during World War II. She remembers the cold and hunger all too well. Today, problems with her legs make it difficult for her to reach shelters or go to the supermarket. Thanks to the meals The Fellowship provides, she can stay home and still have everything she needs.
Rimma is 96 years old and is fortunate to live with a caretaker and her daughter. Like Irina, the trauma of being displaced as a child during World War II still weighs heavily on her. The sirens reawaken the same fear she experienced then as she lives out her later years in the Holy Land. Her daughter says the meals help more than words can express.
The Fellowship also visited 85-year-old Michael and his wife, Olga. Because he often shelters in place, he worries most about food and hunger. His and Olga’s caretaker usually cooks their meals, but the war has made it harder for her to reach them. Instead, The Fellowship brought the meals directly to their home.
While Fellowship staff were in the shelter, residents asked about the meals they were delivering. When they learned the food was for local Holocaust survivors, they were deeply moved by the kindness of our Christian donors and sent their heartfelt thanks.
“The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old” (Proverbs 20:29).
