Continuing the tradition: The Ministry of Welfare and Social Security continues this year's Passover holiday with its project of hosting senior citizens without family support in nursing homes, with the aim of alleviating their loneliness and giving them a sense of belonging.
This year, with the return of residents to the areas from which they were evacuated in the north, senior citizens will be able to stay in nursing homes in this area as well.
The ministry offers senior citizens the opportunity to stay for 10 days (9 nights) in nursing homes during Passover and on the holy days of Passover and the seventh day of Passover, including round-trip transportation - all of this without a deductible and fully funded by the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security.
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The project is in coordination and collaboration with local authorities.
Senior citizens who are interested in staying at one of the nursing homes during the holiday can contact the social services department in their place of residence directly or through the 118 hotline, which will forward the request to the relevant department for further treatment and will also verify that the request has been processed.
Hundreds of senior citizens have been hosted in nursing homes during Passover in recent years as part of the initiative, allowing them to celebrate the holiday together and, along the way, expand their social circle.
Over the years, the responses from those who have stayed in nursing homes across the country have been positive, and all have noted that thanks to the initiative, they were able to celebrate the holiday in the company of nursing home residents, workers, and other senior citizens. During the war, when the lives of many senior citizens changed beyond recognition and many had only recently returned to their homes, the need to allow them to celebrate Passover with other people increased even more.
Minister of Welfare and Social Security Yaakov Margi"The project of hosting senior citizens in nursing homes during Passover has become a tradition at the Ministry of Social Affairs. Also on this holiday, we ensure that every senior citizen in Israel can celebrate the holiday around a festive table and will not be left alone. As it is written in the Passover Haggadah: "Every burden I will fill and I will relieve, every burden I will fill and I will relieve." The Ministry of Social Affairs invests many resources all year round, and especially during the holidays, to improve the quality of life of senior citizens.".
Yinon Aharoni, Director General of the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security"We started the holiday hospitality project several years ago, and it is an important service in our fight to combat the phenomenon of loneliness among senior citizens. Strengthening social ties and creating a sense of belonging are very important for the physical and mental health of senior citizens. We must not leave a senior citizen behind. We are in a time when the war for our freedom against those who want to destroy us is at its peak. It is the senior citizens, the generations of the country's founders, who made freedom a reality after 2,000 years of exile, and they must not celebrate the holiday of freedom alone. I urge senior citizens to contact the 118 hotline or directly to the social services department in their place of residence and register. If you know of someone who may be alone during the holiday, contact us and we will make sure to contact them.".
Head of the Senior Citizens Department at the Ministry, Yariv Mann: ""Hosting senior citizens in nursing homes during the holidays has already become a tradition for us, and it's no coincidence. Nursing homes supervised by the Ministry of Social Affairs are a proper and professional response to senior citizens who need a variety of welfare and health services, and also help increase belonging and alleviate loneliness.".
Senior citizens interested in accommodation will be able to contact the social services departments of the local authorities in their place of residence to which they are associated, or contact the Ministry of Social Affairs' hotline 118, by 4/6/25. Or by text message to the number: 050-2270118
