The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews Doubles Winter Support for Elderly Population Due to Growing Need as War Drags On

February 25, 2025

JERUSALEM – With plunging temperatures and the winter’s first snow finally falling throughout Israel, a troubling report highlights the financial and social plight of Israel’s elderly.

The survey, commissioned by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship), interviewed 400 people aged 75 and older and found that the number of seniors suffering from serious financial challenges has doubled since last year, with nearly a third of respondents reporting an inability to pay for basic necessities such as food, heating, and electricity expenses. The survey also found that 44 percent have experienced intensified feelings of loneliness this year due to the ongoing war, as compared to last winter.

“The findings from this year’s survey are particularly worrying, and reinforce our deep commitment to the needs of Israel’s elderly citizens,” said Yael Eckstein, President and CEO of The Fellowship.

Alongside the report’s release, The Fellowship announced it would more than double its annual support of initiatives benefiting Israel’s elderly, and distribute more than $7.3 million in 2025 for projects that will benefit approximately 73,000 people.

“To combat this particularly harsh and lonely winter for our elderly population, we’re increasing our support to ensure their needs are met and they are cared for, both physically and mentally, Eckstein said. “These values are also shared by our hundreds of thousands of Jewish and Christian donors, who want the people of Israel to know they matter, even if the rest of the world seems to have moved on.”

In recent days, as the forecast began calling for particularly harsh temperatures, The Fellowship dispatched its field team throughout Israel to visit elderly residents and distribute the much-needed food, blankets, and safe heating units. 

Since the attacks of October 7, 2023, The Fellowship has provided more than $157 million in emergency aid to Israel, and has worked closely with key populations including evacuees, recognizing how the trauma of evacuation is far more significant and destabilizing for the elderly community. 

Among those helped was 93-year-old Alla Lopatin, a Holocaust survivor who lived in Kiryat Shmona with her daughter before being evacuated to Jerusalem.

“The situation in the north is an ongoing tragedy that remains very difficult, as our home feels like a ghost town that’s been overtaken, Lopatin said. “While it’s nice to be in Jerusalem, we can’t afford the higher cost of living, and we have to battle not only the cold outside by carrying a small heater from room to room to stay warm, but we have to live with the loneliness that comes with being away from home.”

Alla, like many evacuees, benefits from ongoing assistance provided by The Fellowship, which includes monetary support for food, supplies, and heating appliances.  “This kindness is incredibly heartwarming and reminds us that while we might be away from what we know and love, there are people around the world who want to make sure we don’t always feel alone.”