Fresno native volunteering to help refugees in Israel amid war

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Chaya Zirkind, who was born and raised in Fresno but now lives in New York, just got back from three weeks in Israel, helping about 70,000 people living in Israel and impacted by the Israel-Hamas war.

She volunteered with the Chabad of Eilat, a community in Southern Israel, in the shadow of the wall surrounding the Gaza Strip.

"Overnight, it became transformed into a place of 50,000 people plus tourists; it now had 70,000 refugees, so 129,000 people they are servicing. Each hotel is like a city," said Zirkind.

They provided different programs, events, and support at hotels, schools, and military bases.

"You could be packing lunches for soldiers or picking fruit at the farm. There is something for everyone to do," said Zirkind.

Zirkind says volunteering during the week of Hanukah was powerful, uniting thousands during a holy week and trying times.

"There is a lot of gratitude from people that wake up every morning, but there are others who are traumatized and do not ever have their hotel room," said Zirkind. "So there is a wide gamut of people that are each going through what happened in very, very different ways."

What stuck with Zirkind the most was hearing stories from those who left everything behind.

"Real people. Real stories. If you went for a month, you could not be able to collect all of the stories," said Zirkind.

Zirkind says while there will always be multiple perspectives about the months-long Israel-Hamas War... her hope is for the Jewish community to stick together.

She says her experience volunteering was life-changing.

"Afterwards, it sunk in...like wow, we helped bring joy to so many people. It was incredible," said Zirkind.

You can support the organization helping aid Israel refugees by clicking here.

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