By: Laurina Driesse

The Eshkol region along the Gaza border was ground zero for the Hamas massacres last October 7, and many of the local residents have spent almost a year now living as evacuees elsewhere in Israel. Among these displaced families are many elderly Jews, including a number of Holocaust survivors, and the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem is stepping in to help care for their well-being until they can all return home safely.

Thousands of residents of the Eshkol farming villages along the Gaza border suffered unimaginable trauma when Hamas terrorists invaded their peaceful lives. Most were evacuated from their kibbutz homes to hotels near the Dead Sea and Eilat, while some of the elderly were taken to care homes around the country. This relocation has been particularly difficult for the elderly and Holocaust survivors, who often feel alone with no family or friends to talk to.

Situated only four kilometers from Gaza, the Eshkol Community Center was a thriving hub for these elderly residents prior to October 7, with regular community gatherings and activities. The Center was forced to close for a time, but the staff kept in touch with community members by visiting them, offering encouragement and practical assistance, and connecting them with new social workers. Now, the Center has reopened and is a lighthouse for returning community members who are slowly starting to come home.

When we discovered many of the evacuated elderly were Holocaust survivors, the Christian Embassy promptly stepped in to sponsor special activities that address their unique needs and ensure transport to community events.

An ICEJ team recently visited the Eshkol Community Center and was touched to see the resilience of the locals and staff. As one enters the lobby, banners honouring those who lost their lives or were taken hostage are displayed. Paintings by local residents still hang on the walls from last Succot, as no one has the heart to take them down.

Our tour of the center was hosted by the CEO, Anat, and daycare manager, Yulia. The facility offers a gym and personal training programs, as well as physiotherapy classes for the elderly. A computer room helps with online skills, and a lecture hall offers talks and events. In addition, the dementia wing provides daycare and creative activities in the mornings, plus a ‘snooze’ room for therapeutic care. An art studio, popular among the residents, is currently under renovation and will reopen soon.

Meantime, two rooms were turned into a temporary art studio, and we met several elderly residents who came to paint their memories and impressions from that dreadful ‘Black Shabbat’. Some of the painters also lost loved ones.

While there, the team met Shoshi, who showed us a picture of her granddaughter, Shir. She was meticulously painting a memorial set up for Shir at the Nova festival site.

The art facilitator, Gael, was working on a painting of the entrance to a local kibbutz; she will soon add in terrorists just outside the gate.

Yulla was painting a red road, which she called the “Blood Road”, as the area roads became death traps for hundreds of Israelis on October 7. Yudit had a similar idea with her painting of metal cars piled up, symbolising the thousands of abandoned and torched cars from that dark day.

The ICEJ staff also met Ilana, a beautiful 92-year-old lady who learned to paint only four years ago. She presented her painting of houses burning on October 7. Later, she invited the ICEJ team for tea at her home in Kibbutz Urim, where she shared how on October 7 her living room was turned into a coordination center for emergency first-responders. She also was delighted to show us several other beautiful works of her art on exhibit at the kibbutz.

As these community members give a voice to that day and express their feelings through art, the hope is that their deep wounds will slowly begin to heal. Their work will be displayed at a special one-year anniversary exhibition starting in late September.

As the ICEJ visit was ending, Anat and Yulia shared the trauma and difficulties they and their staff have also experienced since the war began and explained their dream to turn the whole center into a large protective shelter. They want to create an inviting atmosphere at the center where people feel at “home”, so those who are still afraid to return to the region can slowly ease into it. In this process, the most important thing is to recreate the sense of community. Every day, more friends show up at the center once more, and take comfort and joy in being reunited.

The Christian Embassy is honoured to support the important work of the Eskhol Community Center to care for the well-being of the elderly residents and Holocaust survivors of their region.

You can help support these efforts by giving to our Israel in Crisis fund. Your donation will make an impact on Israeli lives during this very difficult time.

Donate today at: give.icej.org/crisis

Photos: ICEJ