Children should always be protected, no matter what. But they are often among the most vulnerable groups in any conflict. In Israel, asylum seeking children often do not speak Hebrew, and have already faced traumatic and violent events in their life. Following Hamas’s brutal attack on October 7, and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza, NIF grantee Elifelet knew that caring for these children must be a priority and that the government could not be trusted to help them. Elifelet’s emergency program is filling the gap that the government left, and helping make sure that children of asylum seekers are safe, fed, and healthy. NIF’s emergency grant to Elifelet has helped them distribute tens of thousands of food packages, translate information about bomb shelters, and provide social workers for families and children of asylum seekers.

Elifelet has worked for years to help families seeking asylum from mostly African countries  adjust to life in Israel. In normal times, they provide food, emergency help, and trauma therapy for their children, and they were instrumental in helping hundreds of these families during Covid-19 lockdowns.