some elderly and disabled Russian Jewish
immigrants, buying them groceries and
medicines, delivering Passover packets, and
much more.
PASSOVER ASSISTANCE
The ICEJ began its annual Passover holiday
distributions in early March by delivering
Pesach packages for dozens of needy families
in Netanya. The gift baskets included food
vouchers for the holiday season, along with
kitchenware, pans, and towels. This was a
normal activity for ICEJ AID at this time of year,
but soon the Passover needs were multiplying,
and nothing remained normal.
Despite the stay-at-home orders, the ICEJ also
funded and helped with the distribution of
Passover gift boxes, including food and hygienic
products, as well as daily meals to over 400
elderly and needy Soviet Jewish immigrants—
including many Holocaust Survivors, who live
in the Jerusalem suburbs of Pisgat Ze’ev and
Ma’ale Adumim.
Meantime, we normally sponsor community
Passover seders for hundreds of newlyarrived
Jewish immigrants. However, since
large gatherings were not allowed, the ICEJ
provided holiday assistance to more individual
immigrant families this year. This included 269
Ethiopian newcomers who were celebrating
their first Passover in the Land of Israel. We also
assisted these families with extra absorption
assistance while they were in a mandated twoweek
quarantine upon entering the country.
Elsewhere, we worked with the Jewish Agency
to assist 50 other newly-arrived families from
other countries who had made the trip to
Israel despite the coronavirus threat and went
straight into quarantine. This extra absorption
aid included vouchers to buy food and other
basics as they start a new life in Israel under
difficult circumstances.
Also, ICEJ funds made it possible for the Jewish
Agency to run holiday day camps for children
of new immigrant families in quarantine. This
project included providing games, crafts, and
toys for the kids to play at home or in small
supervised groups.
Finally, the ICEJ furnished games, art supplies,
and help with online learning for 95 at-risk
youths in a special children’s home during the
Passover season.
EMERGENCY WORKERS
For families living in southern Israel under the
constant threat of rockets from Gaza, life became
even harder due to the threat of COVID-19. The
ICEJ provided local medical and emergency
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