Before October 7, Kfar Aza was a beautiful community, a kibbutz with about seven hundred people living and working side by side in houses surrounded by green lawns and flowers in bloom. After the Hamas massacres, which left over 10% of its 700 residents either murdered or kidnapped, the survivors were displaced and have been scattered throughout the country ever since. However, for the past few months, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) has been working on giving them a new home– once again in a kibbutz to restore the community while awaiting for them to be able to return to Kfar Aza. However, more resources are desperately needed.
In early June, KKL-JNF began the development of a major housing project for the 115 families at Kibbutz Ruhama, which is 23 kilometers east of Kfar Aza. The project is being funded entirely by KKL-JNF.
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What makes this project unusual is not only the scope of the project, but its speedy timetable. Michelle Paryinti, head engineer for building and infrastructure at KKL-JNF, explained that KKL-JNF decided to shorten the already accelerated building schedule from ten months to four months.
Two months ago, bulldozers and earth-moving equipment began to clear 365,000 cubic meters of earth to prepare the area for construction. Currently, the foundations are being prepared, and soon, the first prefabricated concrete buildings will arrive at Kibbutz Ruhama. “It will be an actual neighborhood,” says Paryinti, “with roads, greenery, and paths.”
The goal of the project is to provide immediate housing for families from Kfar Aza, who have been scattered throughout the country for many months. It is expected that they will remain in Kibbutz Ruhama for two years until new permanent housing is completed in Kfar Aza.
Says Paryinti, “The people of Kfar Aza experienced a terrible inferno and lost their loved ones, while many others were wounded and others were kidnapped by Hamas. The community needs to stand by their side, and KKL-JNF will provide them with a solution. KKL-JNF is investing its resources so that they can enjoy a good, peaceful, and pleasant life in their temporary homes in Kibbutz Ruhama. The mutual responsibility that we have in Israel requires us to act on their behalf.”
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He adds that there has never been a project in the history of KKL-JNF and the State of Israel that has been developed at such an accelerated pace. “KKL-JNF understood what was needed, and brought in its top workers to create the project in fourth months.” He adds that forty engineering vehicles are being used by the project, which is being assembled by a team of between 60 and 70 workers. “A project like this, which normally would take two years, is being completed in four months.”
“KKL-JNF knows how to do these things and is ready to help rehabilitate the Gaza Envelope. We are ready to come, help, and give of ourselves.”
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This article was written in cooperation with KKL-JNF.