My Halutza Communities Fundraising Page
Marc Feinberg
Marc Feinberg
Last March, we held a ribbon-cutting for the field that my family built in conjunction with the JNF-USA and the support of our friends and family in an area called Halutza located in the Gaza Envelope.
It was a great day and my kids played on the field with the children. Unfortunately, due to its location on the border of Gaza and Egypt, they experience rockets all the time, every child in the area suffers from PTSD - the field provided an outlet.
On Saturday, the field took a direct hit from Hamas. Hundreds of rockets flew in from Gaza, families were hiding in shelters, and there were many casualties from the community of young men called up to serve.
We had known about the story of Halutza, and the three towns that make up the community, B’nei Netzarim, Neve, and Shlomit. How, when Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, 30 families set up tents in the desert and started what is now a vibrant area with 2500 families -with a waiting list to get a home there. What amazed us was seeing what they have done in just 18 years. From high-tech agriculture, contributions to science and medicine, and a newly open dairy farm, the area of a Halutza is a fascinating miracle, the same as Israel itself.
We are all sick about what is taking place. The IDF will respond with calculated, devasting precision. Like Jews for many millennia, they will not destroy us, and we will rebuild. – the field, the community, the country. The people who live in Halutza and all of the Gaza Envelope communities are strong and resilient.
We all need to help Israel at this time. Please contribute to helping the families of Halutza as we rebuild the area, provide Psychiatrist for their PTSD, and continue to build this special community on the Gaza Boarder.
Thank you!!!
Marc
About Halutza:
In 2005, families were evacuated from the Gush Katif communities of Atzmona and Netzarim during Israel’s disengagement from Gaza. And while a group of these families could have relocated to Be’er Sheva or another established city, they chose another option: They would build a new community where literally nothing had stood before. Located in the Northwest Negev, a kilometer from the Gaza border, Halutza was a barren desert—sand dunes were its most prominent feature. But in cooperation with the Jewish National Fund (JNF), Halutza’s pioneers laid roads, created an infrastructure, brought in prefabricated temporary housing, erected hundreds of greenhouses, planted crops, and built fields of solar energy panels. Today, Halutza has grown from its 30 founding families to 2,500 families in the region.
Kids make up 68% of the population in the area–1500 and growing.
Most of the children of Halutza suffer from PTSD. A result of the constant missile attacks from Gaza.
Notes from our trip there last year:
· High tech agriculture – They are growing Collagen on tobacco leaves that will be harvested and used to create organs with a 3D printer to be implanted in humans.
· Massive amount of agriculture -They are exporting Pineapples, Cucumbers, tomatoes, and other products to 27 countries all around the world.
· Newly opened dairy farm- they just had 500 pregnant cows delivered. We saw two calves that had been born an hour before we arrived.
· From 30 families living in trailers in the dessert, they now have 500 families living in homes and constantly growing - 60% are 18 and under.
· The field sits 450 feet from the Egyptian border. While standing on the field we saw plumes of black smoke. It was ISIS fighting the Egyptians. The Israelis provide the Egyptians with intelligence.
· The field is 1 mile from the Gaza border. The kids have 15 seconds to get to a bomb shelter when the alarm goes off.
· The kids were playing soccer on the field. Through my relationship with the Israeli Lacrosse Association, we will be introducing the sport to the community. The ILA will send players to give clinics and help with equipment. The kids have watched videos and are very excited.
· The idea of the field has inspired more projects. Other generous doners, through the JNF, are building tennis courts, a basketball court, and a Ninja obstacle course all next to the sports field.
It was a great day and my kids played on the field with the children. Unfortunately, due to its location on the border of Gaza and Egypt, they experience rockets all the time, every child in the area suffers from PTSD - the field provided an outlet.
On Saturday, the field took a direct hit from Hamas. Hundreds of rockets flew in from Gaza, families were hiding in shelters, and there were many casualties from the community of young men called up to serve.
We had known about the story of Halutza, and the three towns that make up the community, B’nei Netzarim, Neve, and Shlomit. How, when Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, 30 families set up tents in the desert and started what is now a vibrant area with 2500 families -with a waiting list to get a home there. What amazed us was seeing what they have done in just 18 years. From high-tech agriculture, contributions to science and medicine, and a newly open dairy farm, the area of a Halutza is a fascinating miracle, the same as Israel itself.
We are all sick about what is taking place. The IDF will respond with calculated, devasting precision. Like Jews for many millennia, they will not destroy us, and we will rebuild. – the field, the community, the country. The people who live in Halutza and all of the Gaza Envelope communities are strong and resilient.
We all need to help Israel at this time. Please contribute to helping the families of Halutza as we rebuild the area, provide Psychiatrist for their PTSD, and continue to build this special community on the Gaza Boarder.
Thank you!!!
Marc
About Halutza:
In 2005, families were evacuated from the Gush Katif communities of Atzmona and Netzarim during Israel’s disengagement from Gaza. And while a group of these families could have relocated to Be’er Sheva or another established city, they chose another option: They would build a new community where literally nothing had stood before. Located in the Northwest Negev, a kilometer from the Gaza border, Halutza was a barren desert—sand dunes were its most prominent feature. But in cooperation with the Jewish National Fund (JNF), Halutza’s pioneers laid roads, created an infrastructure, brought in prefabricated temporary housing, erected hundreds of greenhouses, planted crops, and built fields of solar energy panels. Today, Halutza has grown from its 30 founding families to 2,500 families in the region.
Kids make up 68% of the population in the area–1500 and growing.
Most of the children of Halutza suffer from PTSD. A result of the constant missile attacks from Gaza.
Notes from our trip there last year:
· High tech agriculture – They are growing Collagen on tobacco leaves that will be harvested and used to create organs with a 3D printer to be implanted in humans.
· Massive amount of agriculture -They are exporting Pineapples, Cucumbers, tomatoes, and other products to 27 countries all around the world.
· Newly opened dairy farm- they just had 500 pregnant cows delivered. We saw two calves that had been born an hour before we arrived.
· From 30 families living in trailers in the dessert, they now have 500 families living in homes and constantly growing - 60% are 18 and under.
· The field sits 450 feet from the Egyptian border. While standing on the field we saw plumes of black smoke. It was ISIS fighting the Egyptians. The Israelis provide the Egyptians with intelligence.
· The field is 1 mile from the Gaza border. The kids have 15 seconds to get to a bomb shelter when the alarm goes off.
· The kids were playing soccer on the field. Through my relationship with the Israeli Lacrosse Association, we will be introducing the sport to the community. The ILA will send players to give clinics and help with equipment. The kids have watched videos and are very excited.
· The idea of the field has inspired more projects. Other generous doners, through the JNF, are building tennis courts, a basketball court, and a Ninja obstacle course all next to the sports field.
Comments