Time is running out to help Holocaust Survivors
The past year has tested Israel’s strength—and the resilience of those we serve—like never before.
Israel is entering its third year of war — a war that began on October 7th, when Holocaust Survivors were once again hunted in their own homes.
For Israel’s remaining 120,000 Holocaust Survivors, the pain was unbearable. Sirens, rockets, and funerals reopened wounds of terror they had carried since childhood.
Today, Survivors live with tiny pensions that cannot cover rent, groceries, or medicine. Bills pile up. Safe rooms in their old apartment buildings are blocked and unreachable. Fridges sit empty while Israel gathers for warm festive meals.
For those who once lost everything, the High Holidays must not be another reminder of loneliness and poverty.
Israel’s poverty reality in numbers
1 in 3
Holocaust survivors
can’t meet their basic needs.
are
over 90
many homebound with serious medical needs.
2.6
million Israelis
million
Israelis
are facing food insecurity.
61%
OF Holocaust survivors’S
OF Holocaust survivors’S
Quality of life collapsed since October 7th.
6
survivors
Tragically died
and many have been injured when they could not reach their safe rooms.
In many buildings, shared reinforced rooms had been repurposed for decades — crammed with broken furniture, boxes, and years of dust. When the sirens wailed, there simply wasn’t time or strength to clear a path.
In many buildings, shared reinforced rooms had been repurposed for decades — crammed with broken furniture, boxes, and years of dust. When the sirens wailed, there simply wasn’t time or strength to clear a path.
This High Holiday season help us provide:
25,000 Holiday meals directly to the doors of Holocaust Survivors, many who cannot leave their homes
30,000 pantry boxes filledwith apples, honey, challah, toiletries, and holiday essentials
Two million shekels in prepaid grocery cards so Survivors can shop with dignity for the High Holidays
At our warm and welcoming day centers in Dimona, Tzfat, and beyond, Hundreds of Survivors will gather for shared hot meals, singing, and a sense of belonging.
“Every siren brings me back”
“Every siren makes my heart race. I remember the bombings as a child in Warsaw, hiding in an abandoned home, never knowing if each day would be my last. Now, at 91 and living in Jerusalem, the fear returns with every sound. But at Meir Panim, I sit with other Survivors, share hot meals, and for a few hours I feel safe. I am not alone.”
Esther, Holocaust Survivor
More than meals
At Meir Panim, helping Survivors means much more than delivering food.
- It’s opening the door and noticing a home without heat. It’s seeing a broken couch where someone has been lying all day.
- It’s helping with overwhelming forms for benefits or standing beside them at the doctor’s office.
- It’s restoring safe rooms that had been blocked and neglected for years — piled high with old furniture, boxes, and dust, making them impossible to enter when missiles rain down.
- It’s dancing, painting, planting, and celebrating together — so no one grows old in silence.
This may be their last Rosh Hashana Let it be one filled with dignity
Help Holocaust Survivors
celebrate Rosh Hashanah with dignity
American Friends of Meir Panim is a registered 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, registered under EIN Number 20-1582478 Donations to American Friends of Meir Panim are Tax Deductible in the USA. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.