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ADOPTING A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR
ICEJ AID

By: Nicole Yoder
Posted on: Mon, 23 Apr 2012 -0400

In recent years, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem has intensified its effort to reach out in compassion to Israel's aging community of Holocaust survivors, which currently numbers around 200,00. Most of these survivors are now well into their 70s and 80s if not older, and many suffer from illnesses related to the severe malnourishment they endured as youngsters during the worst deprivations of World War II. Besides serious medical problems, many also struggle with acute loneliness and other emotional traumas.

One of the ways we are assisting them is through an adoption program whereby Christians around the world can befriend and support an individual Holocaust survivor.

The ICEJ's Holocaust Survivor Adoption Program is not only a vital source of financial support, it also helps the survivors know that they are not forgotten. Each one is deeply grateful for this assistance and tells their Jewish friends and neighbors about their Christian sponsors.

Some of the adoptions are done through the Israeli charity L'Chaim, while other potential adoptees reside in the Haifa Home for Holocaust Survivors.

By becoming a part of the program, you can have a personal sense of connection to these precious Holocaust survivors and the assisted-living home we have created for them in Haifa. On a recent visit, we learned more fully how much the support means.

"I love her without knowing her!" said Esther as she held a postcard from her adoptive Christian sponsor close to her heart. "After losing family in the Holocaust, it means so much that people are thinking of us."

As Yitzhak slept, devoted wife Fanny smiled with pleasure as a letter to the couple was translated into Hebrew. Yitzhak sleeps a lot, she explained, as he is very weak now. When Yitzhak was only 10 years old, he worked as hard as any adult in the Lodz slave labor camp to avoid deportation to the death camps. His small size allowed him to escape from the ghetto at night to try and steal food and other items to help its Jewish residents cope. Now he is weakened by poor health and old age to the point that it has basically overcome him. But Yitzhak takes comfort in knowing that his waning years are being spent within the secure and loving environment of the Haifa Home for Holocaust Survivors.

Many Christians today say they would have risked their lives to help rescue Jews if they had lived back during the Nazi genocide. Yet right now, we have the opportunity to help those who did survive but still struggle with its impact even in old age. Please consider making one of these dear ones your personal friend.

Contact us at icejaid@icej.org for more information on adopting a Holocaust survivor. Or send a generous donation to ICEJ AID to help us cover the continuing renovations and daily operating costs of the Haifa Home for Holocaust Survivors. Make your gift today by clicking here!

http://uk.icej.org/news/special-reports/adopting-holocaust-survivor