|
An Update on Kibbutz Kissufim
Rabbi London and members of the Kibbutz Aid Committee remain in close contact with our friends at Kibbutz Kissufim regarding their circumstances and needs. This update briefly describes some of what’s happening with respect to Kissufim and its members. It also describes new congregational initiatives we are launching to continue our much-needed assistance to Kissufim. As described in more detail below, these include a second round of fundraising for highly targeted purposes and planning of a potential visit by some Kissufim members this coming fall.
As you know, Kibbutz Kissufim was one of the kibbutzim bordering Gaza that was destroyed in the horrific October 7th attacks, with 18 residents killed, three kidnapped, and dozens of others injured. Since the attacks, the surviving members of Kissufim have been housed, together with other displaced persons, in a hotel on the Dead Sea. Living in a remote hotel has been anything but normalizing for the kibbutz members and has created its own extraordinary stresses. This limbo, together with constant worries about the war, the safety of loved ones, the fate of the hostages, and continued fundamental uncertainty about what the future holds, have combined to create what amounts to ongoing traumas in addition to the lasting trauma suffered from the October 7th attacks themselves.
When Kissufim first reached out to us for assistance in the fall of last year, their most immediate need was for professional counseling to help their children. The kibbutz members asked us to fund six months of daily trauma counseling for their school-age children at an estimated cost of $200,000. We committed to do so and, in November 2023, launched a fundraising campaign both within Beth Emet and in partnership with three other area synagogues (Temple Beth Israel, Hakafah, and Oak Park Temple). There was an immediate and incredibly generous outpouring of support by dozens of Beth Emet households. Not only did the four synagogues meet the $200,000 goal, but they exceeded it by about 10%, with the bulk of the funds coming from our own congregation. This overwhelming response said so much about our ability to come together as a community and our values. The members of Kissufim have repeatedly told us how important the trauma counseling was for their children and how meaningful it is to them to know that they are cared for by Jews halfway around the globe.
While much in Israel and about the longer-term prospects of Kissufim remains undecided and unpredictable, the good news is that the days of Kissufim’s isolation at the Dead Sea are coming to an end. Members of Kibbutz Kissufim are now scheduled to move into prefabricated mobile homes near the town of Omer later this summer, pursuant to a decision made by the community. (The precise date of the move is uncertain, and there have already been several frustrating delays.) The mobile homes are 60, 80, or 100 square meters, depending on family size, and are not intended as a permanent solution. However, they will provide privacy and facilities for individual families who are entirely absent from the current hotel. One clear improvement, for example, will be that families will now have their own kitchens and be able to do their own cooking. The proximity to a larger community in Omer will also mitigate some of the sense of isolation. While the new living conditions will not remotely constitute a return to normalcy, they will be a meaningful improvement until such time as longer-term decisions can be made.
Our Ask
We have been communicating with Kissufim members regarding their upcoming move and have also been candid in asking them about their potential needs in connection with the move. These conversations have led the Kissufim representatives to make an additional funding request that we believe warrants our community stepping forward once again. The funding request is for $60,000 to be used as follows.
1. Gas Installations: In Israel, cooking is typically done using gas. The mobile homes provided by the government do not include gas installations, however, and the government is not paying for gas hook-ups. Our fundraising efforts would cover the costs of installing gas infrastructure for the approximately 85 Kissufim households undertaking the move to Omer.
2. Kids' Bicycles, Tricycles, and "Bimbot" (wheeled toys for 1-3 year olds): In the kibbutz, virtually all children had bicycles. Bikes were used not only for entertainment and exercise but as a practical means of transportation in an environment that was quite spread out. That will once again be the case at the new location in Omer. Bicycles will be the major form of transportation for the children around Omer, including on their way to school and back. Unfortunately, the bikes that the children had at the kibbutz have been lost or destroyed or are inaccessible. Replacements are therefore necessary for approximately 80 children.
3. Educational space furnishings and activities space: The Kissufim representatives have also told us that they will need to purchase furniture for the new educational spaces they will be using at their new location, as well as an “igloo tent” for storage of physical activities equipment. The remainder of the $60,000 to be raised would be used for these purposes.
We know how generous so many of you have already been and how many requests you are undoubtedly receiving from so many quarters. However, we, as a congregation and community, have assumed a special role in relation to Kissufim -- not as part of some quid pro quo that congratulates us for our generosity but because we are responding to a personalized call for assistance by people whose lives have been upended, people who are part of Am Yisrael, that we cannot and should not ignore.
Finally, we continue to discuss how best to create additional opportunities for contact between our communities. This process has been halting and difficult, given Kissufim’s understandable focus on the continued uncertainties, challenges, and traumas faced by its members. There is some exciting news on that front as well, however. We are hoping to arrange a visit this fall from some of the members of Kissufim who, we are told, are in considerable need of a respite from the turmoil that has afflicted their lives for the past 8 months and would like to spend time in a community that has supported them. The visiting Kissufim members would be hosted by volunteering Beth Emet families. The logistics are under active discussion, and we will let you know more as these plans progress and become more concrete.
We hope you will support or continue to support our efforts relating to Kissufim. If you’d like to make a donation you can click here, and under fund select Kibbutz Kissufim Donation. If you have any questions or need any additional information, feel free to contact David Graham at dfgraham810@gmail.com
| 
