For Such a Time as This - part 11

April 1^st

Now is not the time for April fool jokes, but we do enjoy the often funny and hilarious posts on Facebook and Whatsapp.

Today, it took longer than usually to know if we were supposed to deliver or not. The balagan at City Hall is greater than ever due to the in-fighting, lack/refusal of cooperation between departments and the approaching Pesach Holidays. Around 11 a.m. we got the green light from Kochava to come and pick up 260 meals – one for Ramot and one for Kiryat Menachem.

On our way into the center, we were stopped by a policeman whom we proudly showed our permit. “What are you to each other? Married?” He wrote down my ID number and reminded us of the regulations: give no rides to neighbours or people not of your household!  

The skeleton crew of three Hineni volunteers had been working very hard this morning, judging from the row of ready meals that were waiting on the table for us to deliver. 

It was a tight fit in the car, but we didn’t want having to come back again for the next batch.

Tomorrow around noon the articles for the Pesach boxes are supposed to arrive and Benjamin wants to start preparing them immediately. We won’t have time to be bored the coming days, that is for sure!

The address in Ramot was known and we found it without the help of Waze.

Ilana sounded stressed, like so many people responsible for the welfare of the elderly they care for.

Kiryat Menachem was a new address, thankfully easy to find. 

The community center of this low-income neighborhood was empty of people, except for two secretaries. Ori, the man in charge, asked if we could help them deliver the meals to the individual people on their list (150!)

“Sorry, no,” I told him. “We pick up the meals from the kitchen and deliver them bulk, and that’s it.” He looked as if he had a challenge on his hand now... Well, that was his problem now.

There was enough to do at home: finalizing the Hebrew/Russian Hineni flyer that had to be added to the Pesach packages and keeping up with the blog posts; and Facebook; and so many other little things. Indeed, we don’t have time to become bored!

Even though the number of infected people is still on the rise, Israel is perceived as one of the ‘safest’ countries to be during this crisis.

Last Tuesday, Israelis donated more than NIS 1.2 million ($340,000) to help the 4-year-old twins who were orphaned when their mother Tamar Peretz-Levi died earlier in the day from the coronavirus. The sum was donated on JGive for the children in less than nine hours, according to the Ynet news site, as fundraisers targeted NIS 1.8 million ($500,000) in a month. The initiative was put together by residents of Lod and the mayor of the central city, where Peretz-Levi was from.

And on a personal note: when I told our landlord that we could only pay 2/3 of the rent money, he said that was o.k. with him. Half an hour later he called, telling us they wanted us to pay nothing at all for the time being, and see how things would develop in the coming month. That, dear friends, is the HEART of Israel!

For Such a Time as This - part 10

„Gottes Worte sind starke Felsen in der Wüste, Felsen, aus denen Quellen fließen, damit die Seele nicht verdurstet.“ Dorothea Unbehend

“God's words are strong rocks in the desert, rocks from which springs flow, so that the soul does not die of thirst.” Dorothea Unbehend

Ursula, a German Hineni volunteer who was unable to fly back to Germany and is stuck in Israel for the time being, gave us this encouragement today. 

Despite the fact we didn’t have a delivery to make yesterday, the Hineni volunteers had been very hard at work and many meals were prepared.

Today it took a while before Kochava received the final order from City Hall – who continue to drive them crazy with changes in addresses and totals. “Two deliveries,” she texted. “One to Pisgat Zeev and one to Gilo.”

“We are on our way!” I texted back.

On our way to the center, we again passed two police check points. We see an increase in drivers being checked and read about the steep fines some people get when they are on the road when they were supposed to be home. Some are even arrested!

The volunteers, some new faces, were still busy filling the meal boxes with the freshly cooked food that was still warm. An official from the Municipality came in to check if Hineni was allowed to be open and told the workers to keep a distance of 2 meters.... Bit difficult if you are filling the meal boxes.

More and more people are wearing face masks, but the only one we have is a dust cap...

The Jerusalem Post reported this morning that the Mossad (Israeli Secret Service) was able to obtain 10 million more protective masks for Israel, a few dozen ventilators, tens of thousands of test kits, some 25,000 N95 masks.  

Mossad Director Yossi Cohen now heads a special command center along with other national security units and the Health Ministry. Cohen has taking over the country’s efforts to purchase medical equipment from countries with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations, (e.g. in the Persian Gulf).

The big question is: will they start selling the simple masks to the general public in the supermarkets? I decided to look for a YouTube tutorial on how to make them myself, but wondered where to buy the elastic that is needed. That kind of ‘non-essential’ shops are closed...

But first things first: write today’s blogpost.

In Pisgat Zeev’s ‘Golden Colony’ we put 50 meals near the entrance, where three female IDF soldiers appeared who are now assisting the general public.

“We only need 30,” the Russian resident said.

“No problem.” I set aside the 20 meals. “Can I take a picture, please? These meals were donated by Dutch people!”

“Wait, wait!” a woman sitting in a parked car called. “Can I also be in the picture? With my new yellow vest? Is there Gouda cheese in the meals?”

We love the quiet roads, but it’s an eerie quiet. From northern Jerusalem we drove south again to Hostel Gilo where we could bless Roslan and Israel with an extra 20 meals. They are always so grateful.

“What kind of hostel do you run?” I wanted to know.

“We look after people with mental handicaps, who live on their own, but in a protected environment,” Roslan explained. “We are expected to provide three meals a day, but how can we do that, if there is no help from the Ministry of Social Welfare?” Both men looked haggard and stressed. “We didn’t receive any meals yesterday, so today is such a blessing!”

I know that there are hundreds of people like Roslan and Israel, who have the responsibility over many special needs people, and have to make do with almost nothing. It’s about time journalists start writing more stories about the hardships many are facing on this side of society instead of constantly droning on about the political situation...

We know that Israelis are becoming more and more stressed because they are stuck at home and not allowed to work, (or who lost their job) worried sick about how to pay for food, rent, etc. Daily, we encounter the people that have to work, sometimes extra hard and long hours. These Israelis look tired and stressed, not because they are afraid to lose their income or their job, but they are worried about getting infected. Often, they also have their family at home. 

We try to encourage people as much as we can, but it’s so little and the needs are so big.

Today, we received our official “Mitnadev basherut Iriat Jerushalayim”- “Municipality Jerusalem Volunteer” permit which we’ll show if the police stop us.

We’re ready to do what we can, blessed and honoured to be able to serve the people of Israel.

Jerusalem during the Corona Crisis - part 9

March 29, 2020

“You’re too early!” Chanah greeted me when we showed up around 11 a.m. “They are not ready yet!”

Indeed, I noticed that in the restaurant downstairs the volunteers were waiting for the cook to finish so they could start filling the plastic containers. One of the volunteers had been questioned by the police and then sent back to his home because he could not show any permit to be out on the street. It wasn’t enough when he told them he was volunteering at the Hineni humanitarian restaurant.

On our way to the center police set up a roadblock on the other side of the street. They were definitely looking for someone specifically – perhaps a Corona positive person who escaped from quarantine. In the last couple of days, police have made several arrests and fined people for disobeying or violating the restrictions.

While we waited for the meals to be ready, I interviewed Benjamin to be posted on FB. Benjamin, Channa and Kochava, the Hineni office workers were constantly on the phone with government officials, trying to obtain permits for the Hineni staff AND the volunteers. It seemed a total lockdown was imminent because a large segment of the population (orthodox Jews and Arabs) continue to disobey government orders. What makes it extra hard is that the Jewish population is preparing for Passover, beginning next week, while the Muslim population prepares for Ramadan. At least the Christian population doesn’t have too much preparations for Good Friday and Resurrection day because those holidays don’t involve special meals.

11.45 a.m. we were ready to roll – only 2 addresses today.

Canada Hostel in Armon haNatsiv was to receive 130 meals and from there we drove again to Gilo, where a hostel for special needs people received 90 meals. Roslyn, the house father and his assistant Israel, expressed their gratefulness on a short video and later sent me a message that they had already distributed the meals.

“We’re able to get permits,” Kochava texted me, “but I need your ID numbers and the car number a.s.a.p.”

That was good news, but the trouble was getting hold of the ICEJ volunteers who also wanted to help.

Our local supermarket was busy as ever. Some people wore masks, others only gloves. The food products are changing to ‘kosher le Pesach’. In Israel, I haven’t noticed people hoarding toilet paper, etc. They probably are too busy trying to stay afloat financially and prepare for the Pesach holiday.  

Wednesday, we have to pay our rent, and we’ll have to ask our landlord if we can pay 2/3 instead of the full amount, otherwise there’s not enough to live on. At least Wim receives a small pension, that is more than many people who lost their jobs and now have no income at all.

During these troubled times, we are to remind ourselves: