Needy IDF Families Get Help

For the seventh year in a row, the IDF Soldiers' Association is providing some 3,500 New Year’s “golden tickets” for needy families of IDF soldiers. Each is worth up to NIS 200 and will enable the soldiers to shop for the Rosh HaShanah holiday.

The project actually takes place twice a year, with food packages distributed to needy families of IDF soldiers for the New Year and at Passover.

In past years, the organization explained, families received pre-packed food items for the holiday. This is the first time “credit cards” have been distributed instead, enabling families to choose their own items with which to celebrate.

In addition, this is the first Rosh HaShanah that all disadvantaged families of IDF soldiers received the benefit; in past years, only families of combat soldiers were entitled to the support.  

The project, budgeted at some NIS 700,000, was made possible through private donations and support from the Canadia branch of the Association for the Well-Being of Israeli Soldiers and the Canadian Zionist Cultural Association.

Avigdor Kahalani, chairman of the IDF Soldiers’ Association, said, “Thousands of IDF soldiers choose to serve [in the army] despite significant economic difficulties at home. The Association and the Association for the Well-Being of Israelis Soldiers in Canada cherish them and their families for their sacrifices to the nation. We hope that this modest contribution will help them celebrate the holiday with dignity.”