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Homebound seniors in Israel battle isolation, loneliness during pandemic BY SHIRYN GHERMEZIAN | jns.org
Israeli senior citizens inside the Akademaim Senior Housing Facility in Ashkelon, March 2020. Credit: Courtesy of the Jewish Agency for Israel.
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hile a number of Jewish organizations are focused on helping the elderly in Israel, who are at a higher risk of getting extremely sick from the coronavirus (COVID-19), not get infected with coronavirus, the older population is struggling with the country’s ordered self-quarantine and social distancing. Israel has been radically intensifying its coronavirus regulations with new directives issued by the Health Ministry that prohibit Israelis from leaving their homes except to obtain “vital needs and services,” such as purchasing food, home supplies and medication they cannot have delivered, or seeking urgent medical attention. The elderly, along with people with chronic conditions and weakened immune systems, were urged not to leave their homes for any reason at all and to rely on delivery services. “This new situation puts [the elderly] in a difficult reality as their daily routines have evaporated; they no longer go out to meet friends, to community centers, to supermarkets or other activities,” Yossi Heyman, executive director of the American Joint Distribution Committee’s association Eshel (JDC-Eshel), said. JDC-Eshel partners with the Israeli government in the planning and development of 24
L’CHAIM SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE • MAY 2020
services for older adults and their families in Israel. Heyman added that “social distancing is also taking a toll because the elderly face more loneliness than the rest of the population. In fact, we are hearing from many homebound seniors that they’re more afraid of loneliness than the virus.” “In this situation, family and caregivers have a very important role in creating human communication. Using technology to communicate — whether through phone call, video chats and apps — can make a great change. We even heard of families encouraging the grandparents to read bedtime stories to the grandkids via video. While we fight the virus, we’ve got to remember our battle with isolation and loneliness.” The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews announced last week the creation of a $5 million emergency fund primarily to help elderly and Holocaust survivors in Israel cope with the coronavirus pandemic by providing them with packages of food, hand sanitizer, hygiene products and other essential items in order to reduce their need to go to shopping centers and risk contracting the virus. Through the organization’s With Dignity and Fellowship ministry,