Usually, the municipality and the center provide support for olim with a variety of programs in order to help them integrate, but they have had to find creative solutions to issues caused by the coronavirus crisis in the past year, such as the need for olim to quarantine.
The new immigrants, who are now far from family members, end up alone in quarantine without the circle of support they could have had access to. The municipality decided to deliver the packages to help provide support in the challenging situation.
The goody bags include food, surprises and special juices from the Etrog Man juice stall in Jerusalem.
"This is an exciting and blessed project, which creates a sense of home for the same population that has chosen to leave a whole life behind and immigrate to Jerusalem out of values of love for the Land [of Israel]," said Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion. "We will continue to act in a variety of ways to help them integrate into the Jerusalem community, and continue to encourage aliyah through real absorption, as reflected in this initiative."
"For most of us, it sounds obvious to receive a package from family or close friends, while we are in isolation, but for many young people who have immigrated to Israel, this supportive home front is lacking," said the municipality. "Through these packages, we actually provide it for them. The Jerusalem Municipality is a kind of family for them, in order to make their aliyah in complex days like these simpler."
Immigrants who received the packages were very excited, according to the municipality. "They felt at home, that there was someone who cared for them – and that was the goal for us," said the municipality.