You can read more about our PROJECT for the Holocaust Survivors: click here

From Sara:

Approximately 500 Holocaust survivors, from 2300 of the elderly population, live in Sderot. Most are Russian speakers who came to Israel in the early 2000’s, directly to Sderot.

After World War II and the German occupation several thousand Jewish refugees survived the concentration camps and ghettos. More than half came to Israel and the rest immigrated to the US, Canada and other countries in central and Western Europe. During the War of Independence about half the fighters in the Jewish defense forces and the IDF were Holocaust survivors. Many were killed in battle. Most Holocaust survivors chose to be silent and not to talk about their experiences, feelings and emotions that were locked inside them.Only after the Eichmann Trial in the 1960s did the situation start to change and these feelings were legitimized, told and documented. Thus, the Holocaust survivors became a living bridge between now and then. The survivors have been suffering since the end of the war until today in many ways, from physical, mental and spiritual scars. The trauma of their experiences continues throughout their lives.

The survivors were not able to deal with the loss of their beloved families, who were murdered in cold blood, and were involved in their own personal survival – the fact that they had been given life at the expense of others engraved deep scars on their souls. Despite this, many succeeded in rebuilding their lives, raising new families and developing flourishing careers. Many Holocaust survivors from the FSU arrived in Israel with no belongings other than the clothes they were wearing and the education they had received in their countries of origin. They worked for only few years in Israel and were not able to accumulate property, pension rights, etc. Therefore, they live on minimum old age stipends and social benefits from the National Insurance Institute, so small stipend which is not sufficient for even the most basic needs.

We hope to help them and allow them to live their remaining years with respect, and alleviate their loneliness as much as possible. After undergoing a process of ventilation with the help of professionals, a secured club, which is close to their home, was made useable for Holocaust survivors. In order to help the remaining Holocaust survivors in Sderot we wish to provide them a secured building that must be urgently renovated, to give a feeling of calm and fun, when used for social activities, lectures, performances, etc.