“Natasha* was 21 when she was smuggled across the Egyptian  border into Israel, after being told she would have a job caring  for the elderly. This seemed a great offer compared to  opportunities offered in her homeland, Belarus. Once in Israel,  she was taken to a brothel in Tel Aviv, and forced to work as a  prostitute for four years. She worked sixteen hours a day, every day, with no vacation. She got sick with hepatitis C, and ran away with one of her customers, who claimed he would take care of her. Natasha was abused by him both mentally and physically. She stayed with him for a while and has a daughter from him, who is an Israeli citizen. A few years ago, she left him and began raising her child on her own. She lives in a shelter for battered women and is working hard at a cleaning job, even though she constantly feels ill, and has no medical insurance to provide her with relief.

Natasha’s ex-partner will not associate with the child, and she had to fight in court for him to acknowledge his relation to her daughter. She does not want to return to Belarus because she has no chance of receiving healthcare there, and may very well die of her sickness. She has no one to go back home to.

There is a possibility that she will be put in an experimental program in a hospital in Tel Aviv. Together with others in Israel, Israel Benevolence Fund is assisting Natasha and others like her.

Those trafficked for the sex industry are physically and psychologically abused, often become dependent on highly addictive substances, are transferred from one [abuser] to another, locked into brothels, raped, denied contraceptives and otherwise sexually exploited. In all respects these women are no longer considered human beings, but are treated as economic goods, as objects.

No one should exist under conditions of slavery and sexual exploitation, yet this is the only reality for thousands of people in Israel today. It is an atrocity that must be addressed NOW.   Together with your support we can tangibly reduce human trafficking in Israel and provide a voice for those without a voice.”

Thank you for partnering with us and others in Israel, working together to bless Israel and her people.

Opening New Clothing Distribution Center

[This report is from some friends in Israel.]

“Over the past years, we had the wonderful and humbling experience of helping the needy through our numerous humanitarian projects. We’ve seen the hearts and lives of people touched as they joyfully and thankfully receive the help we’re able to offer them because of you.

Feeding the hungry is only one part of our calling as believers and followers of Yeshua. The other part is also clothing the poor.

So with great excitement we launched a new project and are now opening a new one of its kind clothing distribution center in Ashdod, that will provide help for single mothers, handicapped people, elderly and poor and needy families, not just from our city but also from the surrounding area.

We trust that this is something that can make a significant difference in our city, simply by demonstrating G-d’s love in action through reaching out a helping hand with practical aid.”

A recent gathering  to celebrate Hanukkah and  bless Israeli Holocaust  survivors

Israel Benevolence Fund is  partnering with others in Israel  to give widows, orphans, and Holocaust survivors 50,000 double-layered, water resistant, warm fleece jacket and hats for the harsh winter months as many of them cannot afford to use heaters to warm their houses.  The state stipends for Holocaust survivors  amount to barely $300 a month, not enough to pay for basic necessities.

According to figures presented by the National Insurance Institute and other Israeli agencies, out of the 250,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel in 2007, 20,000 receive reparations from Germany and another 40,000 are paid stipends by the state. The overwhelming majority, however, receive no support whatsoever. Under Israeli law, those survivors who arrived in Israel after 1953 are ineligible for government benefits.

To bless 5,000 Holocaust survivors in a very practical way, we purchased 2,500 high-quality fleece jackets and hats.   2,500 jackets have been distributed in Akko, Haifa, Jerusalem, Ashdod and Tel-Aviv.

Many people came to hug and thank us: “You did something fantastic for us; the people were so touched… May God bless you!”

“Thank God somebody cares for us – I had no warm jacket for this winter,” said Leah from Jerusalem. She survived the ghettos in Nazi occupied Ukraine and can’t make ends meet on her own.

Michael another ghetto survivor:  “You warmed our hearts, it’s not just the jackets, it is your attitude and love that we feel. Thank you from all of my heart!”

David  did not have his own winter coat but was wearing a woman’s coat given to him last year. He and his wife Asia just celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary. Asia cried at the gift of a coat for David.

Luba  is very poor.  Her husband has Alzheimer’s and is in a facility– all her money goes to care for him. She lives in an apartment that is furnished- nothing is hers except her clothes and photo album from her family in the war. She was very grateful for the coat as she did not have one for winter.

Another survivor  asked us to thank the sponsors for the warm fleece jacket, while another ghetto survivor was happy to receive such a beautiful gift for Chanukah and said: “Let the generous giver’s hand be prosperous, be blessed!”

“This Chanukah gift given by you is a proof of the caring heart and loving attitude towards us, the Holocaust survivors. Thank you for this.”

Thank you so much for donating to this special project, as we show these courageous survivors that they have not been forgotten. We are working together with others to be  your representatives of love and compassion here in the land.

“Not unto us, O L-RD, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake.”(Psalm 115)