Wheelchair-bound Eliad could not be evacuated. Pitchon-Lev found a way

Since October 8, the day after the brutal murder of many Israelis, and every day over the past two months, Pitchon-Lev has been sending trucks and vehicles to deliver food and supplies to the displaced families’ centers, as well as to the southern and northern communities under missile attacks.

The Israeli authorities expect the war to be long. For this reason, Pitchon-Lev aims to provide not only immediate assistance to the numerous families and citizens in need but continuous support until the end of the conflict and even afterward.

In its first 59 days, the organization managed to assist in delivering over 60,000 food parcels, more than 50 tons of supplies, 14,000 boxes of formula and diapers for infants, about 7,000 hygiene kits and toiletries, and no less than 8,000 ready meals to 120 communities and 121 IDF units.

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“As an organization on the ground in direct contact with aid recipients and with extensive experience in routine assistance and emergencies, Pitchon-Lev is succeeding in rapidly addressing the needs that arise and fulfilling them almost immediately,” said Eli Cohen, CEO of Pitchon-Lev.  

Simah Zaghouri, a 73-year-old from Ofakim, is one of the tens of thousands regularly receiving assistance from Pitchon-Lev during this time.

Initially, Simah was evacuated from Ofakim but eventually returned to its reality of missiles and war.

“It’s difficult to go shopping these days, and not everything is available,” she said. “The packages Pitchon-Lev brought me are important—they include everything I need for cooking. We’re eating modestly now, a light dinner, we are trying to manage. I appreciate everyone who donates; it’s a great mitzvah they are doing for us.”

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“I was about to go to synagogue when the missiles started falling, and we heard cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ and gunfire in the street,” David Omer, 78, recalled. “Two army officers came and evacuated me to the Dead Sea by myself. All my children were drafted into the reserves. I thought I would be here only for a few days, put a few things in a bag, some medications, and now it’s been two months. Thanks to the assistance from Pitchon-Lev, I have everything I need and can get through this period more easily.”

In the north of the country, at Kibbutz Beit Alfa, volunteers from Pitchon-Lev bring supplies for babies, food, and hygiene and toiletry products to 130 displaced residents from Kibbutz Ayalon, which is located about 300 meters from the border with Lebanon.

Shirah Shlosberg, 34, was evacuated with her two young daughters, while her husband, Nadav, the Commander of the kibbutz’s preparedness team, stayed behind to defend the place.

“We are grateful and accept the help with open arms,” she said, even though everyone “really wants to go home. On weekends, it gets even harder. We miss the little things we left behind, like the smell of the good food we used to prepare.”

“Rights with a Click”

In addition to providing food and supplies to families and communities in the south and north, as a holistic organization, Pitchon-Lev also operates the “Rights with a Click” program in collaboration with the National Insurance Institute. The service provides all Israelis personal assistance and professional guidance by phone so they can understand all their social welfare entitlements from the public authorities and the Government.  This service is provided free of charge.

During the war, the service has over 200 professionals and volunteers and has processed some 4,000 inquiries, ensuring help of over four million shekels in grants and equivalent services to Israeli citizens.

Among those helped by the “Rights in a Click” program is Eliad Avsnafeld, 49, from P’duim, near the Gaza Strip.

Avsnafeld has Parkinson’s disease and needs a wheelchair to move.

Initially, he did not evacuate because there was no disability-accessible place available for him.

“I was living under constant missiles and shelling,” he recalled. “Many people tried but failed to help me move to a place where I could use my wheelchair. The only ones who succeeded were Pitchon-Lev staff who found me a disability-accessible room in a Tel Aviv hotel, with adapted bathroom facilities and everything I need.”

“We have adapted all the programs we provide in normal times to the war period,” Cohen highlighted. “Besides assistance with food and supplies, we help ensure that people in need receive all that they are entitled to; we operate educational programs and find solutions for any individual needs arising from the field.”

“I am proud that Pitchon-Lev is at the forefront of assisting thousands of displaced families and hundreds of communities in the south and north,” he concluded.

Since the beginning of the war, Pitchon-Lev has been one of the organizations standing at the forefront of the Israeli home front, in addition to continuing to assist people in need in breaking the cycle of poverty. In order to support Pitchon-Lev, click here.

This article was written in cooperation with Pitchon-Lev.