Food, Games and ‘Spiritual Sustenance’ Delivered to Yad L’Achim Survivors in the South

Packages to help and comfort the survivors of Yad L’Achim

Under fire, Yad L’Achim activists are traveling from town to town in the south to bring food packages, games and “spiritual sustenance” to dozens of women survivors of Arab villages.

As reported last week, Yad L’Achim has been inundated with calls from Jewish women in Arab villages saying that the Simchas Torah massacre has made them realize their mistake and prompted them to ask for help in escaping.

This week, Yad L’Achim staffers and volunteers circulated in Ashkelon, Sderot, Netivot, Ofakim and Beersheva distributing dozens of packages to survivors who have been relocated there. Each package has two parts: one has dry and canned foods, games, and coupons good at local grocery stores; the other, meant to offer spiritual sustenance, includes a “Chitas” (Hebrew acronym for Chumash, Tehillim and Tanya), a tzedaka box and mezuzos.

“In the wake of the recent tragic events, more and more people are asking to have their mezuzos checked and to purchase mehudar mezuzos for protection and security,” said one Yad L’Achim official. “We were happy to comply.”

Meanwhile, survivors who were traumatized by the missile fire or who didn’t have a security room or nearby bomb shelter were moved to more secure apartments in the center of the country.

Yad L’Achim says the package project was warmly received by survivors. “Each one in turn thanked us for not forgetting them in time of war,” said one official. “This latest project is in addition to regular contact with our social workers who lift the survivors’ spirits and provide them with emotional support.”