Since Oct. 7, the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, along with its partner agencies in Israel, have already built eight bomb shelters at places like day care centers and preschools in Northern Israel. However, with the recent escalation of violence near the northern border of Israel, the organization is hoping to build many more bomb shelters.
“The threat of imminent war is obviously troubling, but we have to prepare for that,” said Melissa Arden, chief planning officer for the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County.
The organization has worked with partner agencies in northern Israel, which is not as developed as other parts of Israel, for the last 30 years. While the federation had previously focused mainly on economic development in the area, the focus since Oct. 7 has been on building bomb shelters.
“These homes (in northern Israel) were built without these so there is a great need,” said Arden. “There were children in a community daycare and when the rocket sirens went off they had no shelter. They had to go out in the rain and put their hands over their head and we all know that that’s not really protection, so our community rallied and within days we had a shelter in place for those children.”
For Israelis like Honey Levy, who is now living in Palm Beach County and now works with the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, the federation’s efforts mean the world.
“They’re really saving lives, not just now, but these bomb shelters are going to be around for a very long time,” said Levy, who often visits her home in Israel. “Seeing what everyone is doing is absolutely incredible.”
The federation’s efforts in northern Israel also include providing protective equipment for first responders and fire suppression equipment and renovating existing bomb shelters.
Leave a Reply