‘I Remember the Constant Feeling of Cold and Hunger’

IFCJ Canada  |  June 5, 2026

When 87-year-old Emilia heard Fellowship family in Israel were coming to her home in Haifa with a special food box for Shavuot, she tidied her small apartment and put on her best shirt.

For Emilia, every visit is a special occasion.

Emilia was just three years old when war broke out in 1941. She, her mother, and her sister were evacuated from their village while her father stayed behind to fight. Although she was very young, one memory has stayed with her all her life.

“We had so little,” Emilia recalled. “My sister was the only literate person in that tiny village, so locals would come to her for advice and bring us whatever small amounts of food they could spare in return. Even with that, we barely had clothing or food.”

The hardships did not end when the war was over. Emilia lost her mother at just 11 years old and later faced relentless antiSemitism as a Jewish woman in the former Soviet Union. Opportunities that should have been open to her were denied simply because she was Jewish.

In 1994, Emilia made aliyah (immigration) and built a new life in Israel. But today, she faces a different struggle.

Living on a limited income, Emilia worries about the rising cost of basic necessities. The foods she depends on most have become increasingly expensive. During the recent war with Iran, she was forced to leave her apartment and stay with her son because her building does not have safe shelter.

Now, in her late 80s, the fear of not having enough is something she knows all too well.

That is why the support from our Fellowship family in Israel means so much. The food and assistance Emilia receives help ensure she can meet her most basic needs and celebrate holidays like Shavuot with dignity.

“To The Fellowship’s donors who make this possible, I want to express my deepest gratitude,” Emilia said. “Well, what else can I pass on besides gratitude?”

As Holocaust survivors like Emilia face hunger, poverty, and isolation, The Fellowship serves as an essential lifeline for these vulnerable Jews.  Please give today and help provide food, care, and hope to vulnerable elderly Jews who need it most.