First Home Update – New beginning

“When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies” (Numbers 10:9)

Dear friends, sorry for the long pause without any news. We have been busy preparing to welcome new families. It has borne fruit and against all odds, in this month of September, 60 students of the “First Home in the Homeland” sat down at their desks to study Hebrew.

Newcomers from the Ramat Negev Regional Council. 9 families from the FSU countries and Europe. First day in Ulpan, September 2024 | Photo: JAFI

“Kibbutzim supported us and opened their doors for more than 100 new olim from different countries”

It wasn’t an easy period for us due to many factors. Lack of apartments in kibbutzim (they have sheltered thousands of refugees from the Gaza Envelope (areas in the Southern District of Israel that are within 7 km of the Gaza Strip, and settlements bordering Lebanon), a decrease in aliyah from the FSU countries, the rise of antisemitism throughout the world and dozens of letters from olim from Europe. Despite the huge number of new dwellers from the border regions, kibbutzim supported us and opened their doors for more than 100 new olim from different countries (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, USA, Austria, Germany, Honduras, Chile) this summer.

First day in Ulpan. Kibbutz Merhavia, September 2024 | Photo: JAFI

We have started the program in 4 regions and are waiting for the new groups of olim in 4 other regions by the end of the year. We have opened the group for 8 families from Russia in the Samaria region and a small group of only 3 pupils in kibbutz Or Ha New (2 km from the Gaza Strip border).

Action in support of hostages, kibbutz Or Ha Ner | Photo: JAFI

We had not planned to start the program in this kibbutz in August, but 3 brave young people from Russia, USA and Chile joined us there. Two of them were volunteers in the Eshkol region before the program. Also, 6 of our families who were evacuated from the kibbutz Or Ha Ner after October 7 wished to come back to their First Home, which was a real blessing for us.

Three brave students of Ulpan in kibbutz Or Ha Ner | Photo: JAFI

More than 80% of families who joined us in 2023 and 2024 decided to extend the program and stay in kibbutzim for another six months. Including families who came to the Mate Asher region near Nahariya, which has been under constant shelling since October 2023. Thanks to the support of the coordinators and the kibbutz residents, our families feel safe and at home there and don’t want to move. We hope that once the war is over, we will welcome even more new families in this beautiful region.

“Thanks to our friends from Christians for Israel, we were able to provide targeted assistance to each family”

Of course, we were glad that all these families stayed with us, but many of them needed emotional and financial support, and only thanks to our friends from Christians for Israel, we were able to provide targeted assistance to each family, i.e. psychological support for families who arrived in Israel shortly before October 7, financial assistance for families with children, subsidizing expenses for kindergartens and after-school programs, organizing a wonderful vacation at the children’s camp, et cetera.

New olim from the kibbutz Or Ha Ner. Kate and Dmitrii came with their 3 children one month before October 7 from Russia. They were accommodated in kibbutz Or Ha Ner, which became their real home. They came back after 8 months of evacuation to build their life in Israel | Photo: JAFI

It is very important for us to tell you that every smile from these people is entirely your merit. Every time we had a hard time, you were there, prayed for all Jewish people, supported us, and helped us overcome all the difficulties.

The war is not over yet, but we believe that through our common prayer the dark times will end, and our people will come back to their homes. 

!עם ישראל חי

Please support the “First Home in the Homeland” Project. Any amount is welcome!
Assisting a family in the “First Home” program costs € 230 euro / US $ 250 a month.

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