We are relieved that the ceasefire is holding, and we thank G–d that life is getting back to normal here in Israel. However, we experienced a tremendous loss with the death of Omer Tabib. Omer Tabib was born in Moshav Elyakim and was the eldest of Tali and Amir Tabib’s two children. Omer was killed by an anti-tank missile in the Gaza Perimeter, while patrolling near Moshav Netiv Ha’asara.
Itzik Holovsky, head of the Megiddo Regional Council remembered Omer with these words: “A terrible disaster fell on us yesterday, out of the blue. The heart is torn and the head refuses to believe. There is no consolation for the terrible loss. It doesn’t make sense and it’s not normal for a father to read Kaddish for his son. Omer Tabib was killed at the gates of Gaza by a missile fired by the damned and vile Hamas. Omer was active in B’nei Akiva, an outstanding student at Hatikva School in the Moshav and the Megiddo High School and was loved by everyone. An excellent athlete, a talented water ball player, he was an outstanding soldier who received the IDF award from his unit. In just another month he was supposed to be released – how terrible, how painful!”
Read on for an update on how we are faring in Yokneam and Megiddo after the bombardment.
Supporting IDF soldiers from the Elyakim Base: There is an army base in our region that is very close to Moshav Elyakim. The Partnership steering committee decided to support the soldiers on the base and show them how much our communities think about them during this challenging time. Committee members, who had participated in fundraising courses supported by Federation, raised 2,100 ILS in four days and delivered 60 trays of pizza and drinks to the soldiers. Rebecca, our new steering committee member who was the champion of this initiative said, “Today we had the honor of delivering and handing out 60 pizzas plus drinks to Base Elyakim. We got to chat with the soldiers and they literally could not stop thanking us. Within minutes it was gobbled up! There were some serious smiles and laughter.”
Supporting Atlanta & St. Louis Lone Soldiers: The connection between the Partnership Region, Atlanta, and St. Louis IDF soldiers was strengthened during this operation. The “adoptive” families of our Lone Soldiers and our committee members called each of them to make sure all was okay and to see how we can help. June 10 will mark our first visitors in the region after COVID-19, from Hillels of Georgia. Seven soldiers confirmed their participation for dinner in our region. There are also videos and letters that schools created for the soldiers, such as this one from The Davis Academy:
Megiddo is hosting teens from the south: The Megiddo Regional Council is hosting 150 teens from the south of Israel for a respite from the challenging situation. There is real need to help the teens recover from these difficult times, and Megiddo is helping to provide that. The Federation of St. Louis helped with funding part of the costs of the meals for the teens.
