President Shimon Peres on Sunday 12 Teves 5774 toured the emergency center in Jerusalem today which is organizing volunteers and receiving requests for assistance from across the city. The volunteers, accompanied by medical teams, are delivering hot food, blankets and heaters to elderly residents of the city who are coping with the storm and extreme cold. President Peres was welcomed to the center by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who showed President Peres the work being done at the center and in the situation room from where teams are sent to assist residents across the city.

President Peres spoke with dozens of volunteers who described how from the moment the roads were opened they visited the elderly and delivered aid with assistance from the military. They delivered basic provisions and three hot meals. The volunteers stressed that they went door to door to ensure that no elderly resident in Jerusalem would suffer from cold or hunger.

Mr. Peres thanked the children and volunteers for the blessed work and said, “You are the warming pride of Jerusalem, I’m proud of you, of the people who opened their homes and their hearts to others and those that dropped everything and came here to help. I came to thank you as a citizen and as a resident of Jerusalem; you added generosity and warmth to these difficult few days.”

Peres then held a conversation with local children who were at the center and they told him of the long days without electricity, “We used torches, now the power is back and everything is ok. We also used the time to enjoy the snow and spend time with our families.” At the emergency center, which was opened at the Kiryat Yovel community center by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, students from the pre-army program, “After me” are volunteering as well as local residents who heard about the program and students who live in the area.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)