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ORGANIZING EMERGENCY RESOURCES, LOGISTICAL Together with Sulamot’s task team, Anat and I echoed Rav Rimon’s
CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS: MEET YANIV AND sentiment that “Am Yisrael is strong, and we need to be united to
succeed.” The sweatshirt unity campaign stands as a testament to the
SISI ELBAZ FROM NETIV HAASARA enduring spirit of our people, and it is a privilege to have played a role in
fostering hope and unity during these challenging times.
Tell us about the challenges you have faced since being
relocated to Kibbutz Ma’aleh HaChamisha’s Hotel? TZOCHAR’S BATTLE BEFORE
Sisi: We received hundreds of donations of necessary items from people all AND AFTER OCTOBER 7TH:
over the world, but it needed to be organized or else no one would receive
what they needed. My husband Yaniv and I set up this special place at the MEET YANIV LEVI, EXECUTIVE
hotel, almost like a general store. There were hundreds of items, and so DIRECTOR OF TZOCHAR
many people needed things. It was logistically overwhelming. I myself was
emotionally overwhelmed, being evacuated and going through so much. What sets Tzochar apart from other
communities in the Gaza border region?
How did you navigate through this difficult situation?
Yaniv Levi: Tzochar is a yishuv kehilati, a
Sisi: Sulamot’s team helped us create this space inside a hotel, making it community-based settlement, of 190 families
a systematic process and breaking down each thing that we needed to do and their livelihood is not dependent on
into stages so that we could meet the needs of everyone who came by the agriculture. Unlike some of the other 32
store. People were desperate. They needed diapers: now. Clothing: now. communities in this region, even before Yaniv Levi
They also needed more serious things like glasses and medicine. October 7th, Tzochar lacked the financial strength and entrepreneurial
initiatives needed for independent growth. We provide services for the other
THREADS OF STRENGTH, FROM ADVERSITY TO communities and kibbutzim in the region, but with no independent factories
or initiatives. Before October 7, I was appointed by the regional council to
EMPOWERING APPAREL: MEET YANIV AND ANAT help Tzochar overcome these obstacles and promote both community and
FROM KIBBUTZ ZIKIM financial resilience.
How has Tzochar’s situation changed post-October 7th?
Yaniv Levi: Today, we are fighting for Tzochar’s survival, especially after
the government’s decision to place us just 200 meters beyond the security
demarcation line for additional security funding. People are displaced,
they are in trauma, and they can leave to Tel Aviv to relocate. They are
scared to return to Tzochar. But this is exactly what Hamas wants, and it
is our responsibility to make sure that every family feels safe enough to
return home to Tzochar.

Why is the stability of the entire region at risk?
Yaniv Levi: If even one of the 32 communities in the Gaza border
settlements is abandoned, it would be a blow to the entire region, playing
Yaniv making sweatshirts at the Yearim Hotel, and residents wearing the sweatshirts. into Hamas’ desires. Tzochar is the weakest link in the regional council.
If Tzochar is not rebuilt and repopulated, this situation poses a serious
How did you deal with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks? threat to the stability of the entire region.
Yaniv: Anat and I were relocated to the Yearim Hotel along with the rest
of the kibbutz. We own an apparel printing business and were determined How does working with Sulamot impact Tzochar’s outlook?
to continue to work even from the hallways of the hotel. We managed to Yaniv Levi: Sulamot, with its unwavering commitment, has become our
bring our portable labeling machine from the kibbutz, transforming the lifeline, promising to work with us to ensure that every family can return
hotel hallway into a makeshift workshop. to Tzochar. They decided to adopt us, offering support at a time when
Sulamot’s task team, who were in the hotel every single day, suggested governmental authorities and agencies are not yet functioning optimally.
we use this as an opportunity for all of us to contribute to the healing This organization has a heart; they deeply care about us. We gave them a
process and to increase unity. long list of needs, and they didn’t balk. They gave us a warm feeling that we
have a ‘father,’ someone to depend on. In the midst of the darkness, there is
How did you work with Sulamot’s task team to bring this light. We are so glad and filled with pride that we are privileged to work with
initiative to life? wonderful people like Rav Rimon, Rav Eli Taragin, and their team.
Together, we created a concept of sweatshirts that proudly bear the message Join us as we rebuild lives and extend our embrace to
“October 7, 2023, Am Yisrael Chai” and “Together We Will Win.” October 7
symbolizes our survival and showcases our strength and resilience. eight evacuated southern communities: Netiv HaAsara,
Tzochar, Holit, Zikim, Shokeda, Yachini, Talmei Eliyahu,
Was the initiative successful? and Kerem Shalom.
Yaniv: We distributed the sweatshirts to hundreds of displaced people in Your support is the cornerstone of change. Contribute
various hotels. While simultaneously offering my family a financial anchor, to the Atufim Project, and play a vital role in
our goal was to infuse hope and unity into the hearts of those who had revitalizing these communities: www.atufim.co.il/en
endured unimaginable loss and displacement – and it succeeded.
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