April 2nd
Later than usual we received the call:
come and deliver meals! Only two addresses: in Pisgat Zeev and Kiryat Menachem.
The three faithful Hineni volunteers had been busy again – the ‘towers-of-ten’
meals were already waiting for us. Benjamin and the office staff were busy
coordinating and phoning about the articles that were expected to arrive for
the Pesach gift boxes. We had printed 100 flyers at home, so they would have
enough to start. Meanwhile, a printshop in Talpiot, that thankfully was still
open, was printing another 600 and we could pick it up later that day.
We decided to bring the largest batch
of 140 meals to Kiryat Menachem first. A large truck that was unloading
vegetables blocked the entrance, so we lifted the meals over the divider. Today
was such a dramatic change from the empty entrance yesterday.
Neighbourhood
volunteers were busy filling plastic bags with tomatoes, broccoli, carrots and
other vegetables to be distributed to needy families in the neighbourhood. We
left the warm meals in the Center’s main hall – the man in charge was waiting
for a list with names and addresses for distribution. He had so much on his
mind these days!
Our next stop was the Speedio printshop
in Talpiot.
The door was locked but after I made the ‘phone’ sign someone
opened the door a crack. “Sorry, no one is allowed to come inside.” The owner
handed me the printed flyers and I gave him the visa card. From the doorway we
wished each other a happy and healthy Pesach!
Back at Hineni, most of the extra
volunteers for the Pesach packages had arrived, but not the deliveries....I dropped off the flyers that still
needed to be folded, and we continued our tour to Pisgat Zeev.
Galina already called where we were,
as the volunteers were waiting for the meals to be distributed. When we arrived a lot of people were
waiting for us. As always, Galina was so very grateful for the 70 meals.
After such an exciting morning, it’s
always good to be back home and relax a little. Tomorrow morning we’ll start
early: be at Hineni at 9 a.m. to help packing the boxes. When Benjamin has the
list of addresses, we can also start delivering them!
The volunteers cannot
pick up speed while filling the boxes because of the 2-meter distance rule. The
delivery truck didn’t receive permission from the police to unload the truck in
the one-way street, so he had to drive around several times, unload a part,
drive around again, etc.
Benjamin told us that, because of the
Corona crisis they don’t receive permission from the government to work during
the intermediate days of Pesach this year. “That will be the very first time we
are closed,” Benjamin said.
The cook also cannot work without his
assistant Mohammed, who won’t receive permission to enter the Jerusalem
district during the Pesach week. For security reasons, there is always a
weeklong closure of Judea and Samaria during the holidays.
We’ll see what happens. The coming
days we’ll be working extra hard to get everything ready and distributed: the
meals and the packages.
Somehow, we also have to find a flower
shop that sells small plants – I want to encourage some of our contacts with
something special for the Pesach holiday.
By the way, Petra’s new mask got quite
a few surprised responses.
Some facts and figures (from today’s Jerusalem
Post)
- One Million people unemployed – about half the applicants are aged 20-34. Rate: 25% compared to 4% prior to the outbreak.
- Extremist ultra-orthodox Jews (Hassidic) continue to fight the enforcement. Most of them belong to anti-Zionist sects that are not connected to mainstream ultra-Orthodox groups. They refuse to accept instructions from the senior rabbinic leadership of the mainstream ultra-Orthodox world, let alone state authority. By not complying to the Corona virus restrictions not only do they endanger their own community but also the rest of the population of the cities in which they reside.
- 40% of Israelis are stressed out, a survey shows, the women more so than the men. 65% worries about their financial situation in the foreseeable future. However, most Israelis believe that society will be able to recover from the crisis.
