ICEJ Assists Evacuated Israeli Youths from Nir Oz
By Marelinke Van Der Riet, ICEJ Publications Assistant
The small Israeli farming village of Nir Oz, home to some 400 residents, was devastated by the horrific events of October 7. This profoundly impacted life for the community. On that tragic day, 100 kibbutz members were either killed or taken hostage in nearby Gaza by Hamas terrorists, who also destroyed a staggering 80 percent of the homes and pillaged the kibbutz. Currently, 37 residents remain hostages, though sadly, at least 10 may no longer be alive, including the Bibas family.
A Temporary Home in Kiryat Gat
The Kiryat Gat municipality has generously provided space for kibbutz members from Nir Oz to continue their communal activities. This includes providing facilities for their children, such as kindergartens and a youth club. Thanks to a generous gift from ICEJ Canada, the children recently participated in a woodworking and furniture-crafting project. The project brought joy and fun to the youth and enabled them to create furniture for their new clubhouse—another bright, safe space for them to meet.
“In these challenging times, when so many families are still grieving and worried about loved ones being held hostage to this day, the community ties are more important than ever,” explained Nicole Yoder, ICEJ Vice President for AID & Aliyah. “The chance for the youth to enjoy fun activities strengthens them and frees parents to deal with other pressing concerns. This gift tells them that they are remembered and cared for—and that feeling of being noticed makes all the difference. We are so thankful to our friends for making this possible.”
This club space will hopefully serve as a healing environment where the youth can come together, have good, clean fun, and forge strong bonds after all the traumatic experiences they endured.
Your generosity enabled us to sponsor this camp and invest in Israel’s youth, the future of this nation! Please support our continuing outreach to Israel during this difficult time by giving to our Israel in Crisis fund.
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