Immediately after the October 7 terror attacks, in the true spirit of Israel, the entire country mobilized to help people who were traumatized and had lost everything. This included opening their homes, their hotels, and their communities to the thousands who were evacuated from the south and, not long after, the north of Israel; donating and delivering ready-made food or much-needed equipment; shopping for groceries, clothing, blankets, and more; or donating to numerous existing organizations or new ones that have popped up to help.
A team of Bar-Ilan University students and faculty members volunteered to help children and parents work through their traumatic experiences at the newly launched Teddy Bear Strength and Resilience Center
Bar-Ilan University’s management, faculty, staff, students, researchers, and friends of the university are part of this drive to help and support everyone affected in a variety of different ways. New initiatives are being created constantly and volunteerism is at an all-time high. We mention some of these initiatives here.
Emergency Interpreting Call Center
BIU’s Translation and Interpreting Studies Department in the Faculty of Humanities established an Emergency Interpreting Call Center with dozens of volunteer interpreters to work with emergency responders and aid organizations. This is being used by institutions, organizations, and emergency centers for real-time interpreting of essential information for non-Hebrew speakers. Read more.
Pilot Teddy Bear Strength and Resilience Center
Due to the success of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine’s well-known Teddy Bear Hospital, and in light of the immediate and pressing need resulting from the sudden outbreak of the Iron Swords war with Hamas, the Faculty immediately stepped into action and initiated the inaugural “Teddy Bear Strength and Resilience Center” to offer intervention for children aged three to 12, with a focus on healing both their minds and bodies. Read more.
Emotional and Psychological Support
Bar-Ilan University’s Support Line is staffed by more than 100 mental-health professionals who welcome calls from members of the Bar-Ilan community and the general public alike (in various languages). We are deeply grateful to everyone who helped establish the line so quickly, from those who provided technical know-how to those who volunteered to take calls. The psychological assistance comes from the Department of Psychology, The Louis & Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, and the Student Center for Psychological Services. Read more.
Mobile Optometry Unit Offers Free Tests and Glasses
A team of lecturers and students from Bar-Ilan University’s School of Optometry and Vision Science in the Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences volunteered to go from community to community to give hundreds of vision tests and provide new glasses for survivors of the terror attacks after they had to evacuate their homes without their belongings. This service was offered through the School’s mobile optometry clinic, which was launched in 2020 during the pandemic. Read about the mobile clinic here.
BIU Crowdfunding for Ultrasound Devices at the Front
Bar-Ilan University and its Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in the Safed (Tsfat) in the Gallilee launched an emergency crowdfunding campaign for the purchase of 200 compact portable ultrasound devices to be used by IDF soldiers and medical teams in combat areas. These innovative devices will help diagnose critical injuries at the front, for effective prioritization and evacuation. Read more.
Helping Desperate Farmers Harvest Fruit and Vegetables
A significant part of the agricultural workforce in the areas surrounding Gaza employed Palestinians (from Gaza and the West Bank). Due to the current circumstances, these workers are not allowed to enter the country. Other foreign workers, many from Thailand, were evacuated and returned home. The farmers, who rely heavily on these people to help them prepare the ground and plant seeds, look after the vast agricultural areas, care for the various plants, and harvest the produce have been left with very few who can handle the load. Read more.
These are just some of the many initiatives that have been set up by BIU. Others include free Zoom lectures with the Faculty of Jewish Studies, art therapy offered through the Department of Jewish Art, emergency operators staffed by faculty members and students whose job it is to call thousands of employees and students, a mentoring system for new students, monitoring of injured students or their family members, WhatsApp support groups, and many more.
