Dr. G. Douglas Young came to Israel for a purpose. Captivated by the God, people and land of the Bible, the Christian educator from Canada established a theological seminary in the land where large portions of the Bible played out. From the lecture hall of the Israel–American Institute of Holy Land Studies (today Jerusalem University College), Young taught young Christian minds the Bible and instilled in future Christian leaders a love for Israel and the Jewish people.
The Six Day War forced a temporary halt on classes. Young and his wife, Georgina, promptly put their educational efforts aside and joined their Jewish neighbors to help beat back the enemy. Young converted the school van into a makeshift ambulance, ferrying the wounded through the front lines to Hadassah Hospital while Georgina converted the Youngs’ kitchen into a refuge where battle-weary soldiers could refuel and rest before stepping back into the fray.
Their efforts sparked a legacy of Christians blessing Israel during crises that continues today.
After the war, Young established Bridges for Peace (BFP), an organization of Christians supporting Israel. In the 50 odd years since, volunteers have come from around the world to help care for the vulnerable in Israeli society. Every month, some 22,000 Holocaust survivors, new immigrants, widows and orphans are fed from Bridges for Peace’s food banks in Jerusalem and Karmiel. Children from impoverished families eat a hot lunch every school day and receive much-needed school supplies. Home repair teams fix up Holocaust survivors’ apartments. The list goes on.
Moreover, for 50 odd years, BFP volunteers have continued in their founder’s footsteps during times of war, terror and intifada, staying put to help see the vulnerable in Israel’s society through harrowing times. As February flowed into March, Israel braced for war yet again. This time, the enemy was an invisible one: COVID-19. Again, BFP was ready to step up its efforts and help Israel beat back the enemy.
The care continues
“We realized early on that our work had to continue,” explained Rebecca J. Brimmer, BFP international president and CEO. “Even if grocery stores remained open during lockdown, the Holocaust survivors on our program can’t make the trip to stock up. Moreover, neither they nor the families we care for have the funds to buy in bulk under normal circumstances, much less in crisis. We couldn’t let them face the looming uncertainty, knowing they don’t even have the basic necessities. Continuing to care for our people was imperative.”
The powers-that-be agreed, and the Jerusalem and Karmiel municipalities granted BFP special permits to continue operations. “Of course, we work differently, adhering to the safety guidelines,” Brimmer said. “Where lockdown makes services impossible—like hot lunches for students during school days—we’ve worked with principles to provide grocery vouchers. Nobody we look after slips through the cracks. We’ll see them through these turbulent times, just like we have in the past.”
Meeting mounting needs
During the first days of social distancing, many hoped Israel would be spared from the virus spreading like wildfire and ravaging health care systems, economies and life as we knew it. Yet as winter turned to spring, the hope dwindled. Businesses shut their doors. Industries ground to a halt. A large chunk of Israel’s workforce went home unemployed or without the prospect of a salary. A newfound desperation marked the period before Passover. For many, BFP offered the helping hand they desperately needed.
“As the crisis mounted, so did the need,” Brimmer explained. “Within a short period, we received requests amounting to US $1 million. Some turned to us because we assisted them in the past, helping them make aliyah or providing food while they job-hunted. They reached out to the last helping hand in the hope we could offer it again. Others heard about us from a friend or a social worker.”
When 200 Bnei Menashe families lost their jobs during the lockdown, they turned to the organization that partnered with Shavei Israel to help them make aliyah from India over the years. As BFP delivered pallets of food and grocery vouchers, a community leader said with tears in his eyes. “We knew you would come. You are the people who help. You are the people who bless.”
When BFP responded with food vouchers for Ohr Torah Stone staff members unemployed after the schools closed their doors during lockdown, its president, Rabbi Kenneth Brander, said, “At a time in which we’re forced to practice social distancing, you’ve found a way to embrace and inspire us.”
When the Karmiel Municipality needed additional help caring for the most vulnerable in the city, they turned to the organization that has “always stood alongside the city and its inhabitants” – and BFP responded with food parcels for 1,200 Holocaust survivors.
The calls for help continue to come in: social workers needing volunteers to shop for the elderly who can’t leave their homes, a doctor seeing his patients in desperate need, frantic fathers who weeks before had no problem providing, petrified single mothers with no support system. “It isn’t always in our means to help,” Brimmer conceded, “but it’s certainly our heart to answer every call for assistance.”
Never alone
With COVID-19 unleashing the ferocity of its attack on the frail, elderly and sick, BFP’s efforts for Holocaust survivors took on a new dimension—and a new urgency.
“Even in normal times, caring for our Holocaust survivors goes beyond putting food on tables,” Brimmer said. “Along with the food parcels, we often carry laughter and company into lonely lives. On birthdays, we bring special gifts, sometimes the only gift they receive. Over the years, we’ve become invested in their lives, spending hours looking at pictures of loved ones and listening as they share their hearts. We know their stories, likes, pains, joys and sorrows. They ask about our team’s children and rejoice in our milestones. They’ve become our loved ones, like family.”
The threat of infection called for an altered approach, Brimmer explained. “Instead of our usual visits, we call beforehand, drop the food parcel at the door, ring the doorbell and move away. We’ll linger, offering a smile, a friendly face—sometimes the only face they’ll see in days.”
As lockdown days turned to weeks and with Passover approaching, the team stepped up to meet mounting needs. “We realized they might need prescriptions filled or haven’t stocked up on cleaning supplies ahead of Passover, so we began running those errands. We also now buy fruit and vegetables, washing and packing them and then distributing the produce to supplement our food staples. In lieu of visits, we call them to chat, letting them know they are not alone, that we haven’t forgotten them. We can’t fix the loneliness, but we can do our best to take care of the rest. That’s what family does.”
The war against COVID-19 – like every other conflict in Israel’s history – will eventually come to an end, Brimmer said. “Until the fight is won and the enemy defeated, our volunteers will be where we’ve been for more than half a century when Israel comes under attack: helping to see the vulnerable safely through to the other side. That is our legacy – and our privilege.”
Ilse Strauss is a volunteer from South Africa and serves as the news bureau chief for Bridges for Peace in Jerusalem