'We are there for them': IFCJ doubles aid to NIS 26.6m. for Israel's needy amid war

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) announced in a Thursday statement that it will be distributing 26.6 million shekel – over double the amount of last year’s campaign – in an effort to support the nation’s needy. 

The primary beneficiaries of this year's campaign are the elderly and poverty-stricken, with additional funds being used to support evacuees, families of the hostages, and others directly affected by the Israel-Hamas War.

“This year is different,” IFCJ President Yael Eckstein said. “With the economic, emotional, and psychological strain of the war, Israelis need more support.  They need to know that we are ‘there’ for them—and we are.” 

 As part of the IFCJ distribution, over 20,000 elderly people across the country, along with hundreds of families of hostages and evacuated families, will receive financial aid that can be used to purchase food and supplies.

An additional 93,000 Jews in the former Soviet Union will receive food packages and holiday support, including heaters and financial aid for electricity bills.

The impact

"The events of the past year reminded me of the fear I felt on the day when most of my family was murdered during World War II,” said Rivka Kritzbesky, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor.

“I never believed I would experience such hatred towards Jews again, and especially not in my own country, in my own home." 

Kritzbesky, who lives alone in Afula, is in daily contact with her daughter in Ukraine.

"I miss my daughter very much, and these feelings only get harder in the winter, so I look for ways to feel warmth and closeness with her... Amid all the darkness of this past year, your support fills my heart with warmth and a sense that I’m being cared for."