Groups provide Passover assistance to Jewish needy in Israel, former Soviet Union
Published April 6, 2017
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Jewish organizations are providing assistance for Passover to Jewish needy in Israel and the former Soviet Union.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee will deliver more than 50,000 boxes of matzah to elderly Jews in the former Soviet Union through its partnerships with the Claims Conference, and through the IFCJ Food and Medicine Lifeline, its operational partnership with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
JDC also will sponsor seder meals, and holiday activities such as cooking workshops and cultural performances, through its Hesed social welfare centers and Jewish community centers.
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews also has distributed store vouchers to 150,000 disadvantaged families, children, elderly, immigrants and soldiers in Israel to enable them to purchase food and clothing for the holiday. The fellowship said the total value of the vouchers is some $2.65 million.
Municipal welfare officers identify and distribute the vouchers directly to needy citizens. Among those receiving the vouchers are 12,500 Lone Soldiers, who come to Israel without any family to help them.
Collel Chabad, the oldest social services organization in Israel, will provide 22,000 fresh-cooked meals in public seders throughout the country. It will also deliver food packages for 2,500 elderly and 2,500 meals for the homebound. Its United Soup Kitchens of Israel will feed thousands during the holiday as well.
