The Fellowship recently visited Holocaust survivors in Ashdod as part of a national initiative with our partners in Israel to provide food and financial assistance to residents in need. Many elderly residents in this community come from families in Europe and the former Soviet Union who faced persecution during World War II. For some, anti-Semitism continued long after the war ended. Ninety-year-old Lyubov, who still insists on cooking for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, recalls what it was like to be considered “an enemy of the people.”
From the moment she was born, Lyubov and her family faced anti-Semitism. They had moved to Russia from Poland after being targeted by anti-Jewish pogroms. Sadly, life in Soviet Russia brought even more persecution. Because her grandfather was Jewish and owned a textile factory, the family was labeled as dissidents. Soviet authorities stormed the factory, confiscating what they could and destroying what remained. Many of Lyubov’s relatives who worked there were either arrested or killed.
During the war and the Holocaust, her family was forced to separate in order to survive. Around this time, her father was arrested by the KGB, and hunger became a constant part of daily life. Lyubov remembers searching for anything to eat. In the summer, she and her family survived on berries, clover, and even nettles. In the winter, every breadcrumb mattered. After years in prison, her father finally returned home. “A thin, dirty man came to our house,” Lyubov recalls. Only then did she recognize him.
Even after the war ended, the Soviet regime continued to view families like hers as enemies of the people. Educational and employment opportunities were largely closed to them. The only jobs available were often as street or house cleaners. Despite these hardships, Lyubov never gave up. She went on to build a life, raise a family, and even overcome cancer.
Anti-Semitism remained a constant reality until she, her husband, and daughter made aliyah in 1997. While she found safety in Israel as a Jewish woman, life has not been without challenges. Her husband passed away, and she is now nearly blind and struggles with mobility issues. Yet she still cooks for her grandchildren, relying almost entirely on touch.
The support Lyubov receives from The Fellowship does more than help her manage medical expenses and the rising cost of living. It reminds her that she has not been forgotten. She is grateful not only for the assistance, but also for the knowledge that someone still remembers and cares about her.
She says, “I am grateful that people remember me. That someone remembers me. I wish everyone happiness and health, and I wish for the war to end.”
