That headache will be temporarily alleviated this coming holiday thanks to a NIS 50,000 donation made May 25 to Gemach Olelot Katif – a charity run by Rivka Madar of Nitzan. The organization provides monthly food packages to impoverished families from the former Gaza Strip Jewish communities who still have yet to receive their government compensation nearly one year after their forced removal from their homes.
The number of families turning to Olelot Katif for nutritional assistance has been steadily climbing as more and more former Katif refugees exhaust their private resources while still waiting for their promised reparation under the Evacuation Compensation Law, Madar says.
Most of the former Gush Katif residents are currently living in temporary mobile homes in Nitzan and other locales across Israel.
Three quarters of the pre-Shavuot donation comes from an anonymous, hareidi benefactor from New York who wishes to support the Gush Katif families during their current trauma of dislocation and unemployment.
"This is the height of modesty, giving teruma b'seter (anonymous charity)," says Yoram Ohana, the manager of special services for the Jerusalem-based Profile Investment Services. "When you see the conditions in the caravans - all muddy with rickety doors,…" he sighs, on the edge of tears. "These people are the salt of the earth."
"Do you know what's it's like when you have an empty refrigerator and 10 children to feed?" he asks.
Ohana persuaded Rami Levy, a wholesaler and owner of several supermarkets in Jerusalem, Modiin, Judea and Samaria, to discount his food items below cost and provide free shipping worth NIS 12,000 together.
Avishai Koka, the head of warehousing and marketing at Levy's Talpiot headquarters, points out the containers of dry goods waiting to be delivered. The boxes include rice, pasta, flour, cooking oil, tomato paste, sugar, kiddush wine and Shabbat candles, just to mention a few of the long list of basic victuals.
Families with babies receive disposable diapers, infant soap and shampoo, and breast-milk-substitute formula, he adds, showing the invoice.
Food handouts are a stop-gap measure for the Gaza expellees, says Ohana. The key issue remains monetary compensation. As of last month, only a minimal cash advance had been given (of approximately $10,000) for families to live off of until they get new jobs.
But finding employment hasn't proved easy for most ex-Gush Katif residents, considering most of the newly unemployed are middle-aged farmers, who have lost the agricultural resources that were their livelihood. Those seeking restitution have also had to negotiate seemingly endless legal and bureaucratic hurdles.
Ohana's criticism is mirrored by a recent report by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, which determined that the treatment of the evacuees was a "big failure", with many shortcomings in planning.
The future remains uncertain for the refugees. While some have begun to find permanent housing, many remain in various forms of temporary housing.
But at least for another month the 150 worst off families will have something to eat.
The number of families turning to Olelot Katif for nutritional assistance has been steadily climbing as more and more former Katif refugees exhaust their private resources while still waiting for their promised reparation under the Evacuation Compensation Law, Madar says.
Most of the former Gush Katif residents are currently living in temporary mobile homes in Nitzan and other locales across Israel.
Three quarters of the pre-Shavuot donation comes from an anonymous, hareidi benefactor from New York who wishes to support the Gush Katif families during their current trauma of dislocation and unemployment.
"This is the height of modesty, giving teruma b'seter (anonymous charity)," says Yoram Ohana, the manager of special services for the Jerusalem-based Profile Investment Services. "When you see the conditions in the caravans - all muddy with rickety doors,…" he sighs, on the edge of tears. "These people are the salt of the earth."
"Do you know what's it's like when you have an empty refrigerator and 10 children to feed?" he asks.
Ohana persuaded Rami Levy, a wholesaler and owner of several supermarkets in Jerusalem, Modiin, Judea and Samaria, to discount his food items below cost and provide free shipping worth NIS 12,000 together.
Avishai Koka, the head of warehousing and marketing at Levy's Talpiot headquarters, points out the containers of dry goods waiting to be delivered. The boxes include rice, pasta, flour, cooking oil, tomato paste, sugar, kiddush wine and Shabbat candles, just to mention a few of the long list of basic victuals.
Families with babies receive disposable diapers, infant soap and shampoo, and breast-milk-substitute formula, he adds, showing the invoice.
Food handouts are a stop-gap measure for the Gaza expellees, says Ohana. The key issue remains monetary compensation. As of last month, only a minimal cash advance had been given (of approximately $10,000) for families to live off of until they get new jobs.
But finding employment hasn't proved easy for most ex-Gush Katif residents, considering most of the newly unemployed are middle-aged farmers, who have lost the agricultural resources that were their livelihood. Those seeking restitution have also had to negotiate seemingly endless legal and bureaucratic hurdles.
Ohana's criticism is mirrored by a recent report by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, which determined that the treatment of the evacuees was a "big failure", with many shortcomings in planning.
The future remains uncertain for the refugees. While some have begun to find permanent housing, many remain in various forms of temporary housing.
But at least for another month the 150 worst off families will have something to eat.