Page 12 - Demo

When did the residents of Shlomi have to evacuate? The week after the start of the war, the decision was taken that we were evacuating the town of Shlomi, and we moved 6,000 people, out of our population of 8,500, in 3 days. As we were talking about thousands of people, we were split into hotels in different cities in the country. Our residents went to Jerusalem, Haifa and Tiberias. As a municipality, we had a representative in charge of our residents in each city, with a team of people to help them upon arrival. We had to do everything from working out social services and education in these new locations, to day-to-day things like where people were going to get their food from, and how they were going to be able to do laundry.We essentially had to create a %u201ccity in a hotel.%u201d In the first few months, we set up medical clinics, kindergartens, elementary schools, social activities for elderly residents, and more, to make sure we were taking care of our residents. After a few months, the older students began to move to continue their education in the existing schools in the towns where they were now living. In general, initially we were providing all the services to the thousands of displaced people from our town, but gradually the host towns were able to integrate the residents of Shlomi into their services.Also, especially as people are going through a difficult time, and they are away from home, taking care of emotional and psychological needs is very important. From psychological support to running extracurricular activities for children, it was important that these needs were taken care of as well.Now, a year later, where do things stand? Firstly, many people have now moved out of hotels to private apartments around the country, but this means that we lose On October 18, 2023, the Israeli government ordered the evacuation of 43 towns along Israel%u2019s northern border, deeming them too dangerous for civilian habitation. This decision affected 61,000 residents, who were relocated to hotels and other temporary accommodations across the country.Among the largest evacuated towns was Shlomi, home to 8,500 people and situated just a few kilometers from the Lebanese border. Nearly a year after the evacuation, Rabbi Aron White interviewed Chagit Maman, director of Shlomi%u2019s Community Center, to understand how the community is trying to stick together despite being displaced from their homes for such an extended period.Holding a Community Together:Shlomi%u2019s Year-LongEvacuation Story12 |