Israeli social action groups — HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed, Dror Israel and the Combat Genocide Association – launched a charity campaign dubbed, Operation Human Warmth, to supply Syrian refugees with warm clothing and supplies.
The groups collected nearly 100 tons of supplies, including winter coats, boots, warm clothing, sleeping bags, and more that were packed into about 3,000 boxes.
The Israeli clothing and goods makes no mention of Israel – all tags and logos featuring Hebrew writing were cut off, “to protect the effort and the recipients,” according to a statement released by the groups.
“I thought people would be reluctant to support an effort they would not get credit for,” Gilad Perry, Dror Israel’s international collaborations director, said in a statement. “I was amazed to see how wrong I was. The generosity of people just caring for those who suffer from the cold winter on the other side of the border, in an ‘enemy country,’ overwhelmed me.”
Operation Human Warmth is the latest effort by Israeli organizations to help Syrians affected by their civil war.
“The most moving part of the operation for me is to see thousands of Israelis from different religions join forces in a humanistic effort, emphasizing the similarities in the core values of all of us who simply try to make good on this planet, no matter what our backgrounds may be,” Perry told JTA.
The collected goods will be delivered to Syrian refugees via a partner aid organization without any mention of where the supplies originated.
For more information, click here.