An Israeli hairdresser has offered Holocaust survivors a free haircut, garnering more than 20,000 likes to a Facebook post in which he announced the offer, which comes in the same week as Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Yariv Chen, whose shop is located in Kiryat Ata near Haifa, published his phone number in the post and added, “If you know of any Holocaust survivors who need haircutting service or families in need who cannot break even, send them to me. Everything’s done voluntarily and with love, because we have no other country.”
In addition to the 20,000 likes, Chen’s post received over 1,000 positive responses and thousands of shares.
Speaking to Arutz Sheva about his initiative on Wednesday, Chen said, “When you work with the public you are exposed to people who have difficulties, who don’t have enough money. There’s a large public with no money to get a haircut.”
"It's not pleasant to be on the other side and I expect that every person who gets up in the morning, no matter what his profession, will try and figure out how to do something good for someone else,” he added.
Asked if he does not think that it is the responsibility of the State of Israel to help Holocaust survivors, Chen replied, “I wish it were so, but our country is engaged in commemorating the dead instead of investing in life. It would be have been better to give money to those who survived the Holocaust.”