Important Event in Ashkelon for Holocaust Survivors
Chasdei Naomi organization marked International Holocaust Day (January 27) with a moving and respectful event at Beit Ha’Oleh in Ashkelon, this year commemorating 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. During the event, winter care packages were distributed to Holocaust survivors, including clothing, blankets, heating equipment, emergency lighting, and additional supplies — everything needed to get through the winter with dignity.
The event was held in touching collaboration with youth volunteers from the ‘For an Equal Society’ project and attended by dignitaries including Sofia Beilin, Deputy Mayor of Ashkelon, and Alexander Katz, head of the Soviet Union WWII Veterans Organization. Holocaust survivors who attended the event shared their personal stories and left a profound impression on all present. Additionally, the organization’s volunteers did not forget the survivors who are homebound and visited them to deliver the packages personally.
According to Welfare Ministry data, 123,715 Holocaust survivors currently live in Israel. In the past year, we lost more than 13,000 of them. Despite state assistance, many survivors still struggle with daily hardships — from paying for food and heating to experiencing deep loneliness.
Galina Zimmerman, a Holocaust survivor who witnessed the brutal siege of Leningrad, painfully shared: “Even today there are Holocaust survivors living in poverty. The state helps, but there are things without solutions – like high rent, food prices, and people who give up on heating in winter because they can’t afford to pay. I thank Chasdei Naomi and the Ashkelon Municipality for not forgetting us.”
Chasdei Naomi organization, which works year-round for Holocaust survivors, continues to strengthen and assist in every possible way ,from food baskets to personalized help , to ensure that every survivor can age with dignity.
Chasdei Naomi organization considers it important to remember and remind – together we can create a better reality for them.
