Meir Panim: Helping the needy and those affected by the war

Maayan Hoffman, Deputy CEO - Strategy & Innovation for the Jerusalem Post, speaks with Mimi Rozmaryn, Meir Panim’s Director of Global Development, and Omri Almog, whose sister and nieces and nephew were kidnapped to Gaza. Almog’s brother-in-law and another niece were murdered in the attack on Kfar Aza on October 7. Chen Goldstein-Almog, 48,  and three of her four children, Agam, 17, Gal, 11, and Tal, 9, were released on November 26 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel. The father, Nadav, and the eldest daughter, Yam, were murdered. 

Almog discusses the events that took place in Kfar Aza on October 7: the murder of his brother-in-law and niece, the kidnapping of his sister and three children, their recovery since they were freed, and a possible return to their home sometime in the future. “There are many steps to be taken,” he says, “but the first is to bring back all the hostages that are still in Gaza. We need to finish off Hamas and go back and rebuild our community.”

Rozmaryn says that since October 7, the day that the war began, Meir Panim has pivoted and expanded its mission to help those affected by the war. In addition to the regular work that Meir Panim does, supplying food to those in need, the organization is now feeding 1,500 people who have been displaced from their homes during the war, as well as providing food to 6,000 IDF soldiers on the frontlines. “It’s important to hear every day that the people that are living in this country and have lived through the worst atrocities of the war are actual people with feelings and emotions and are not just statistics and news headlines.”

Almog added that despite the trauma and tragedies of the war, “many good things have happened in Israel since this incident. We have to bring this and put it on the table, stay united, and support this family because my story is one story among many. A tremendous number of people were affected by the attack, and we need to support them and look forward to a brighter future.”