Celebrating our Diversity

Israel Elwyn

4 days ago

Memorial Day Ceremony at Israel Elwyn’s Supported Living Program 🕯️🇮🇱

Yesterday we held a moving and powerful ceremony marking Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror.

The people we support led the ceremony themselves, with readings, songs, Psalms, and personal reflections that touched all of our hearts.

They were joined by National Service volunteers, students from the Israeli Arts and Science Academy High School, and representatives from the Border Police, who represented the security forces.

A particularly emotional moment came when Yasmin, a staff member at Israel Elwyn, spoke and laid a wreath in the garden named after her son, Sergeant Evyatar Ohayon-Abuksis z”l, who fell on October 7 at the Kissufim outpost. Evyatar, who loved nature and greenery, is commemorated in the therapeutic garden established in his memory.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, we recited a prayer and released blue and white balloons into the sky as a symbol of hope, unity, and a prayer for peace.

Thank you to everyone who led, participated, and shared this meaningful moment with us.

In these difficult times, true partnership is also, and perhaps especially, in remembrance.

May the memory of all the fallen and murdered be a blessing 🕯️🇮🇱 ... See MoreSee Less

Israel Elwyn

2 weeks ago

Today, across several of our programs at Israel Elwyn, we held “Zikaron BaSalon” (Living Room Memory) events, moments of remembrance, listening, and connection between generations.

At the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Jerusalem Retiree Center, we hosted Aya Kirschberg, granddaughter of Holocaust survivor Ruth Savir, who shared the story through the lens of the second and third generations, creating a meaningful and moving connection between past and present.

This connection is also reflected in everyday life at the center through our joint volunteer project with the Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Victims. Our volunteers, retirees themselves, find a true sense of purpose in accompanying and building warm, personal relationships with Holocaust survivors, מתוך understanding that remembrance becomes an act of kindness and mutual responsibility. It is deeply moving to see how memory is transformed into real human connection, listening, and support 💙

At the Haifa Retiree Center, we hosted Holocaust survivor Hanna Yosefzon, who shared her powerful and personal story.

At our Adult Day Center in Jerusalem, a special and moving “Zikaron BaSalon” gathering also took place, where service recipients shared personal stories about their grandfather, the late Nachum Taben, a Holocaust survivor. Through the memories, stories, and emotions present in the room, a space of listening, connection, and commemoration was created. The gathering, attended by staff and service recipients, was filled with strength, respect, and a deep sense of belonging. Thank you to Binyamin Taben and Tehila Frantzus for choosing to share, and to the service recipients who listened. It is our shared responsibility to remember and pass the story from generation to generation.

In our Sharon and Central Israel Branch, in collaboration with the Shoval program – Equal in Education, we will host tomorrow Tanya Goldreich, who will share the story of Holocaust survivor Avraham Goldreich at one of our day centers in Herzliya.

These gatherings are much more than storytelling; they are a bridge between generations, an opportunity to listen, to ask, and to preserve this living memory.

Thank you to everyone who took part, hosted, shared, and listened. Together, we continue to carry the memory forward 🤍 ... See MoreSee Less

Israel Elwyn is in Jerusalem.

4 weeks ago

A true story of two gap year leadership programs that said at the start of the ongoing conflict: “Here I am…” 🙏💙

Over the past month, alongside the complex reality of the ongoing conflict, a meaningful and moving connection has formed between Israel Elwyn’s Supported Living Program and the volunteers of the Jerusalem Gap Year Leadership Program and Ruach Nachon Gap Year Leadership Program.

From the very beginning of the ongoing conflict, they didn’t wait - they simply showed up.
Since then, they have been working alongside the residents and staff, including in protected spaces and shelters, bringing with them presence, sensitivity, and uplifting energy.

The connection that formed quickly became an anchor of stability, routine, and joy - especially during days when it is needed most.

This is a true partnership that reminds us all of the power of community, of giving, and of people who choose to be there for one another.

A big thank you to the Jerusalem Gap Year Leadership Program and the Ruach Nachon Gap Year Leadership Program for your heart, commitment, and presence 🙏💙 ... See MoreSee Less