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Fund for Victims of Terror Newsletter July-August 2025
This past July, after months of preparation, the Fund launched the Family Circle program—a partnership with the Jewish Agency’s Fund for Victims of Terror, the Ministry of Welfare’s “Swords of Iron” Division, and the National Insurance Institute.
The program supports second and third circle relatives of civilians murdered on October 7th, as well as families of hostages and returnees. While often serving as anchors for first-degree relatives, extended family members have until now lacked formal support. Under the motto “We See You,” the program provides group-based therapeutic processes to strengthen resilience and coping.
Eligible participants include grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, cousins, in-laws, unmarried partners, divorced relatives, and more. Over the next three years, 30 organisations have been selected to operate more than 150 workshops nationwide, tailored to diverse needs—from creative arts therapy, animal-assisted activities, and mind-body work to dialogue groups and family-focused sessions.
Summer is the Fund’s busiest and most meaningful season. This year, more than 850 children and teens took part in our camps—participants included evacuees from kibbutzim and southern cities, families of hostages and returnees, and bereaved families from the Bedouin community.
The children enjoyed a wide range of activities: amusement park trips, theater shows, movie days, ice skating, bowling, inflatables, a headphone party, animal-assisted therapy, dessert-making, jeep tours, and horse workshops—each experience offering moments of joy and healing.
In addition, over 1,200 children and families joined our Summit Day at the Meymadion water park. Held twice a year, this event provides quality time, respite, and smiles for families we support across the country. Meeting many of them in person—sharing hugs, gratitude, and joy—was a privilege that truly marked the start of summer.
Throughout the summer, our team continued visiting communities to provide rights-advising sessions on-site. These field days are invaluable, offering not only practical guidance but also the chance to connect in person, listen with empathy, and extend support that a phone call can’t replace.
In July and August, we met with members of the Nahal Oz community, now split between Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek in the north and Netivot in the south. Nahal Oz is still coping with having a community member being held hostage in Gaza, along with the challenges of being evacuated from their homes. Families received crucial guidance on accessing rehabilitation grants. Our urban team also held events in Sderot and Ofakim, each serving about 30 beneficiaries with new applications and ongoing claims. Partnering with local centers for accessing rights and benefits ensures the process is both efficient and sensitive.
But these days are about more than logistics—they are about human connection. One beneficiary gifted our staff a handmade ceramic bowl created in a class funded by her grant. Another proudly shared artwork painted with supplies purchased through the Fund. These moments remind us of the real, tangible impact of our work and the strength that grows through connection.
In August, the Fund’s Chair, Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, visited the Nir Oz and Nirim communities together with Director of Partnerships Shelly Golan Tzuriel, Operations Manager Hila Deutsch, and Director of the Southern Rural Region Hagit Ehrlich.
The day began in Carmei Gat with the leadership of the displaced Nir Oz community, followed by an open conversation with families of hostages, returnees, and the bereaved. Community members shared their hardships, hopes, and pain, helping to shape the Fund’s next steps in support of Nir Oz.
The team then traveled to Kibbutz Nirim to meet with its leadership and learn about the community’s return home and the challenges of ongoing rehabilitation. Both communities expressed how meaningful and moving the visit was.
The Fund for Victims of Terror is dedicated to creating programs tailored for specific communities, including the Bedouin community, whose members were among those murdered and injured on October 7th.
In August, we supported a special respite day for the Alziadna family, mourning the loss of Yousef and Hamza, who were kidnapped and murdered. Planned with the Bedouin Community Resilience Center, the event took place in the family’s home and offered moments of comfort and togetherness. About 40 children and 20 women participated in activities such as jewellery-making for women and girls and sports for the younger children—carefully designed with cultural sensitivity in mind.
We also arranged a deeply moving trip for a support group of 13 Bedouin women who lost loved ones. Meeting monthly over the past year for art and therapy, they have built strong bonds of support and shared resilience. At their request, the group visited Banias Falls and Baqa al-Gharbiyye, each woman bringing along a close friend or relative. The day offered respite, joy, and unity.
“As a bereaved family that lost our dear sister, Livnat Levy—our children’s beloved aunt—on October 7th, this isn’t just another summer camp”, shares Adi Avitan, sister of Livnat Levy z”l, who was murdered at the Nova festival. “Even today, the children are dealing with deep anxieties and difficult memories from that day: the sirens, the existential fear, the terror, and the heavy uncertainty as they waited for days for Livnat’s return. And yet, out of all that pain, they eagerly count down the days to the Fund’s summer camp. The knowledge that someone sees their struggle, gathers them together, and gives them days rich with experiences and great love strengthens us immensely and provides a feeling of true support.”
-Adi Avitan, mother of Noa and Itai, participants in the Fund’s summer camps
Learn more about the UIA-supported Fund for the Victims of Terror:
1 April 2025
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