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The needs facing vulnerable Jewish people in Israel, Ukraine, and communities around the world are urgent and growing. Holocaust survivors, elderly people, families struggling with poverty, children affected by war, and those displaced by conflict and crisis can face impossible choices between food, medicine, clothing, heat, and other basic necessities.
Through lifesaving humanitarian assistance, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Canada helps provide food, financial assistance, essential supplies, emergency relief, and compassionate care — bringing hope, dignity, and critical support to people when they need it most.
Basic and immediate needs
Approximately 196,600 Holocaust survivors are living around the world today, including 97,600 in Israel and thousands more across the former Soviet Union. Many are now in advanced age, with nearly one-third age 90 or older. 1
As survivors age, many struggle to afford food, medicine, housing and other basic necessities. For those living on limited incomes, everyday choices can become matters of survival. Compassionate support helps ensure they can meet their most essential needs and live their remaining years with dignity, comfort, and hope.
survivors alive worldwide, about half of them in Israel 1
Elderly care
For many elderly people, living on a limited income can make it difficult to afford even the most basic necessities. In Israel, approximately 158,700 elderly people live below the poverty line, and the poverty rate among seniors is higher than the average in other developed countries. 2
In Ukraine, war has placed elderly people at even greater risk, particularly those living near the front lines, where accessing food and other basic necessities can be difficult. 6
For elderly people living alone, with limited mobility or without family support, accessing help can be especially difficult. Assistance with food, medicine, heating, and other essentials, along with homecare for frail elderly people who need help with daily activities, can provide immediate relief and help them continue living in their homes with dignity and care.
elderly people living below the poverty line in Israel 2
Individual aid
Nearly 2 million Israelis were living below the poverty line in 2024, including approximately 880,000 children. Israel’s child poverty rate reached 28%, placing it among the highest in developed countries. 2
For families already struggling, war, rising costs and lost income have made putting food on the table and meeting basic needs even harder. In 2024, 28.1% of Israelis experienced food insecurity because of economic hardship, including approximately 1 million children. 2
Behind these numbers are parents making heartbreaking choices between groceries, medicine, children’s needs, and essential bills. Helping a family today means more than meeting an immediate need — it gives children the stability and support they need to learn, grow, build a brighter future.
Food insecurity
For millions of vulnerable people, having enough food is not guaranteed. In Israel, approximately 2.8 million people experienced food insecurity because of economic hardship in 2024, including more than 1 million children. 3
In Ukraine, war has created another reality: sometimes food and other essential supplies simply cannot reach the people who need them. In 2025, an estimated 5 million Ukrainians faced food insecurity, with the greatest needs concentrated in communities near the front lines. 6
Elderly people are among those particularly vulnerable in Ukraine, especially in frontline communities where accessing food and other basic necessities can be difficult. 6
The need remains critical in 2026. An estimated 10.8 million people across Ukraine require humanitarian assistance, as continued attacks and damage to civilian infrastructure disrupt essential services. 7
Whether caused by poverty or war, hunger forces vulnerable people to make impossible choices. Reliable food assistance means a child can eat today, an elderly person does not have to choose between food and medicine, and a vulnerable family has one less impossible decision to make.
people in Israel experienced food insecurity in 2024, including 1 million+ children 3
School children
Poverty can affect a child’s education, development, and future opportunities. In 2024, approximately 880,000 children in Israel, representing 28% of all children, lived below the poverty line. Israel’s National Insurance Institute warns that child poverty can have lasting effects on educational achievement, health, and future earning potential. 2
IFCJ Canada helps vulnerable children and families with practical assistance, including school supplies and other essentials, so children have what they need to learn, grow and build a brighter future.
IFCJ Canada provides food, care, emergency relief, and hope to vulnerable Jewish people in Israel, Ukraine, and other Jewish communities facing hardship around the world.
