It's cold in Israel - indoors, too - and families are suffering.
They can't afford the cost of heat.
According to recent surveys, about one million Israeli households are in crisis - an increase of 7.5% compared to
figures of just 2-3 years ago. Many are new to the poverty threshold and are just one bill away from crossing it.
With the costs of basic necessities continuing to rise, it's becoming harder than ever for families to get by just with daily needs, including utilities. Parents & children sleep in layers of clothing and live in their coats inside their frigid homes, foregoing heat so they don't have to forego food.
Forty percent of polled citizens who rely on charity and social services have reported having their electricity shut off after being unable to pay their bill, causing them to live in unbearable & unimaginable conditions.
"It's extremely scary, trying to take care of my family while not being able to use the electricity. I don't know how to keep going...the cold is already setting in to the apartment, I don't know how we will manage when the temperatures really drop-I won't be able to turn a heater on! I just wish my children didn't have to suffer..." says S., a Jerusalem mother of three young children.
American Friends of Yad Eliezer | B'ezri's Electricity Support program provides emergency relief to alleviate this suffering for families, many of whom are single mothers, providing assistance to pay electric bills so parents and children can live in functional, normal environments. As one of the major Jewish charities that help the poor in Israel, bringing a sense of normalcy to homes-in-crisis is our priority.
Your help will ensure that clothes can be washed, children can be bathed, food and medications will last in the refrigerator, lights - and heat - can be turned on and all the other benefits that electricity provides, will be available to poor families.
The cost of electricity is rising again! It's making the lives of struggling families even more difficult.
The need for help is urgent and rapidly growing.
Please contribute to the Electricity Support program - your tzedaka will empowerfamilies
to live with dignity and warmth this winter.
Going hungry is a part of daily life for countless Israeli families.
Our Food Support program alleviates that hunger for parents and children throughout the country.
You can help.
While we celebrate the holidays, IDF soldiers defend us on the front lines. Some of them live in poverty and cannot afford proper holiday meals. Let’s not forget them. Together we can give them a taste of the holidays!
The Feed-a-Baby program answers the cries of hungry infants across Israel by providing the nutrition necessary for development during the first months of life.
The tradition of Kapparot involves waving a chicken, fish or sum of money over the heads of each person in the family which is later given to the poor.