Dear
Friends,
I’m
sure many of you are wondering about the fate of hundreds of families expelled
from their homes in the
My name is Rachel Saperstein. I’m a former Neve Dekalim (Gaza) resident of over 20 years and community activist. You can read more about me and my family, as well as the current situation of Gush Katif evacuees in the Gush Katif Viewpoint section of http://english.katif.net, the official Gush Katif website.
In the wake of the disengagement I initiated a project
aimed at alleviating the plight of our families. OPERATION DIGNITY began
after our expulsion from Gush Katif. The people who arrived at the hotels in
Jerusalem and Ashkelon came without the barest essentials. Many were in debt
and had no funds to draw upon. The kind people of Jerusalem came to help, mostly with cash. But
who to give it to? They wanted to be certain the cash went directly to the
refugees. And this is what OPERATION DIGNITY did and still does. We give
out discrete envelopes with cash to families in need.
Today OPERATION DIGNITY is a legal amutah or
Non-Profit Organization recognized by the Government of Israel. We are in the
process of giving aid to those who arrived in Nitzan, a site of close to 500
pre-fabricated homes, as well as newcomers arriving there now. The great
majority of our breadwinners are unemployed and have received little or no
compensation for their destroyed homes and farms. Many are forced to continue
paying mortgages on non-existent homes.
With the holiday of Pesach approaching fast, any help from
you and your friends in Israel and abroad is greatly appreciated. Please direct
your contributions to:
| Central Fund for Israel Operation Dignity Rechov Hagoel 13 Efrat, 90435 Israel |
Central Fund for Israel attn: Arthur Marcus Marcus Bros. Textiles 980 Sixth Ave New York, NY 10018 |
All donations are US and Israel tax deductible.
Sincerely,
Rachel Saperstein
Neve Dekalim / Nitzan