Jews Helping their Arab Neighbours

When war broke out with Hamas last year, it soon became apparent that while most homes in the south have rooms that act as bomb shelters, not everyone in Israel has access to such safety facilities.

As early as November 2023, humanitarian aid group IsraAID joined two other organisations to install protective spaces for Bedouin communities in southern Israel. IsraAID, is a leading international humanitarian NGO in Israel and started installing protective spaces for ‘unrecognised’ Bedouin villages. Those temporary shelters offer some degree of protection for these communities which did not have it previously because of their unofficial status.

Now, in November 2024, a Jewish family has donated 12 bomb shelters to Arab communities in the north of Israel as the fighting with Hezbollah continues, more Israeli communities are hit, and the number of casualties increases.

Placing a portable bomb shelter in an Arab community (Screenshot/N12)

One Arab man commented on the move:

"In a challenging time when we are all exposed to the threats that hover above us,
this amazing gesture by the Jewish family moves me to the depths of my soul
to see people who act with love without expecting a return or publicity,
only out of genuine concern for the lives of others.
It inspires and hopes for a better future for all of us.”

Over the months, Christian organisations have also sought to address this problem. One of them is the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, which over the first 12 months of the war helped Israelis through provision of 28 cubicle bomb shelters (25 on northern border, three on Gaza border) and 5 large bomb shelters, as well as the renovation and repair of 169 underground community shelters in northern and central Israel.