April 25th, 2026 – Elena is in charge of the Holocaust survivors‘ club and has 283 survivors in her program. She routinely organizes trips, birthday and holiday celebrations and classes for different kinds of handwork. Even at this difficult time Elena thinks of others and finds time to visit and encourage them.

She and her husband Sasha’s house was damaged in the attack of the two rockets last week. “Three houses were completely destroyed”, she shares, “and 11 had their windows blown out and their doors damaged, like we experienced it. We didn’t go to the public bomb shelter, because it’s not big enough for all six houses in our row and it’s so difficult for Sasha to get there. But when the sirens just kept blaring, we started to feel uneasy. I had barely managed to help him take refuge in the safest corner of our apartment, when we first heard a loud boom and then felt the heat. The blast wave blasted all the windowpanes into the apartment and warped our door. All the glass and debris was ankle-deep on the floor, but I just cleared a path for us to walk through. That night, we kept the heating on because it was so cold with the windows blown out.” Because there are only two companies around that can replace the broken windows, it is taking a bit of time for the damage to be repaired, but the help that the municipality and volunteers in the town have been offering is quite impressive: Just fifteen minutes after the all-clear, a contact point was set up in a school where those affected could report their damage. A social worker was also there. The people from the homes that had been destroyed were immediately taken to a hotel by the Dead Sea, where they were given some basic items as well as psychological and medical support.

The next morning, teenagers from the religious school in the neighborhood arrived in Elena and Sasha’s home, clearing out the debris. The girls from the graduation class cleaned, and the boys put plastic sheeting on the windows. It took Elena two days to recover somewhat—and then she called the social worker and started helping to care for the others in her program who had been affected. One of her concerns was about what had happened to the Pessach presents she had prepared and stored in the community center – “but they were all still good!”, she says, “only the window and a piece of the wall had been blown into the room.” Elena shoved them back with her own hands and is now preparing to hand out the gifts. She also has a list for us, with people affected by the attack, and others with needs that she is hoping we can help address. 80 of “her” people are bedridden, many could use walkers or diapers. But she also cares for the young generation: “I just wish that all this stops, and the children can grow up normally!”

Elena is touched that we have come to visit and listen to them. “I feel easier now because I was able to share my burden with you,” she says as we leave after an hour and a half of visiting and many hugs.