The residents of the southern Israeli town of Ofakim used to be mostly normal, happy religious families. Living through the October 7th massacre has changed them forever.
Many saw loved ones and family members murdered in front of them. Others are still fighting for their lives in the hospital. Young women lost husbands, children lost mothers. Some have a loved one kidnapped, right now, in Gaza. Their pain is unfathomable.
Beyond the grief, they are now living a logistical nightmare as well. Having fled the blood-soaked ghost town, residents of Ofakim are living scattered through communities further North. Many are living in empty apartments, with no mattresses, no sheets, no clothing, no toiletries, no food. Additionally, many are out of work or just lost their family’s provider, leaving them in dangerous levels of poverty.
A group of esteemed rabbanim, including Rav Chaim Feinstein shlit”a and Rav Mordechai Gross shlit”a have written an urgent and powerful letter to the public asking for donations to help the people of Ofakim. Any and all help is deeply appreciated by those who have just lived through what many are calling the worst massacre since the Holocaust.