December 30, 2008 / 3 Tevet 5769

The Idan family's home

Immediate Financial Assistance for Victims of Kassam Attacks
Southern residents directly affected by the missiles from Gaza are offered immediate support.

The Jewish Agency is providing residents who were injured in the South or whose houses were damaged by Kassam missiles with financial aid of up to $1,000. This grant is offered by our Fund for Victims of Terror and its SOS Emergency Fund, created by United Jewish Communities' Israel Emergency Campaign (IEC) and Keren Hayesod, which has allocated over $500,000 for urgent financial assistance for the victims, enabling them to purchase food products, medical aids, essential equipment destroyed by the Kassams etc. Each family will receive a grant for personal needs not covered by other organizations.

Families Hosting "Refugees" from the South
Families from the center and north are offering to host residents from the South.

In the past three days, the range of missile attacks from Gaza has expanded, and includes many more areas, from Sderot, Ashkelon and Ofakim to areas as far as Yavneh, putting the lives of thousands of Israelis in danger.
The Jewish Agency has launched a hotline to receive incoming requests for accommodation from residents of the south and match them with families from the center and north of Israel, who have offered their homes to accommodate the traumatized families. This initiative is within the framework of "At Home Together", which matches veteran Israeli families with new immigrants. In light of the war in the south, thousands of volunteers from the program will host families from the south, who are under constant fire of missiles.

Hotline for Relatives of New Immigrants Residing in Absorption Centers in the South
Overseas relatives of new immigrants to receive up-to-date information about their families.

Approximately 1,000 new immigrants are residing in five Jewish Agency Absorption Centers in the range of missile attacks in Sderot, Ashkelon, Kiryat Gat and Ashdod. This new Jewish Agency hotline will provide concerned relatives of the new immigrants with updated information about their family members.