‘My Home is Your Home’: urgent appeal to second homeowners in Israel

The World Zionist Organization is appealing to residents from abroad and from Israel who have vacant apartments to offer them, free of charge, for the next three months to the families of evacuees from the south and the north of the country.

“My Home is Your Home” is the brainchild of WZO chairman, Yaakov Hagoel and a WZO spokesperson says: “This is an innovative project of its kind, where the owners of the apartments transfer these apartments for the benefit of the World Zionist Organization, which is responsible for housing families who lost their homes into these apartments.

“These days there is a tremendous need for long-term temporary housing for hundreds of families who lost their homes and, in the meantime, have moved to hotels on a temporary basis which cannot be continued in the long term and will be extremely expensive.”

The organisation says their focus is on building “an operational and professional setup that will be responsible for accompanying the project, which includes a dedicated website, contacts, and advertisements around the world in Hebrew, English, French, Spanish and more.”

WZO will take full responsibility for the process of handing over the apartment offered and “will ensure that the apartment is returned in the same way as it was received.”

Project co-ordinator Roi Abecassis tells Jewish News: “So far, there are over 300 apartments in our database, and we are starting to match the families of the evacuees with the owners of the apartments.

“We were amazed to discover the quick response and the quantity of apartments that the owners are willing to provide, apartments (some of them luxury apartments) free of charge.

“The World Zionist Organization assured the owners that the WZO
will be responsible for returning the apartments after 3 months without any damages. The responsibility that WZO offered, encouraged many to join the project. We discovered that the people of Israel, in Israel and in the Diaspora, are full of spirit of volunteering and the desire to help.”

Yaakov Hagoel, chairman of the World Zionist Organization, says the organisation “uses all the means at its disposal to help IDF soldiers, Israeli citizens and Diaspora Jews.

“Alongside the organisation’s employees who are now serving the State of Israel on the battlefield, other volunteers and employees of the organisation have mobilised for the home front and are responsible for dozens of initiatives for the security of the State of Israel and its citizens.

“The ‘My Home is Your Home’ initiative is an example of the mutual responsibility between the Jews of the Diaspora and the citizens of Israel.

“We are happy to be able to carry out an emotional joining of hearts and further promote the unity of Israel in this difficult time.

“We want to thank the Jews in Israel and in the Diaspora who join the initiative and to everyone who provides a roof over the heads of their brothers in Israel who now need a home where they can find safety, calmness, and shelter from the fierce fighting. We are one people and united we will win”.

• Click here for further information and note that WZO is are looking for apartments that are furnished and available for a minimum of 3 months.