Home PageAbout the IDFWOProfile Hebrew


The IDF Widows and Orphans Organization

Hours of operation: Sunday–Thursday;
8AM–6PM
Tel: (+972)-03-6918403
Fax: (+972)-03-6916483
Mailing Address:
1, Oranim St.,
Givat Shmuel, 54052, Israel
You are here Profile

Dear Sir and Madam,

Our War is the War after the War

On Memorial Day, the whole nation gathers in cemeteries and at memorials across the country to pay its respect to the memory of those who perished during the Israeli wars.
Many of the fallen soldiers left no written will, but we know that their last and most important wish would have been to provide for their loved ones and help them cope with the loss. A memorial stone alone is simply not enough.

"The Lord sustains the fatherless and the widow" (Psalms, 146:9), says the Bible,
showing us that even in ancient times, people understood the significance of helping this special group.

The IDF Organization for Widows and Orphans is the only organization recognized by the State of Israel, helping the families of those who lost their lives while serving their country in the IDF, the General Security Services and the Israeli Police. Founded in 1991, the IDFWO provides financial assistance to widows and orphans of Israel’s fallen soldiers – Jews, Druze, and Bedouim – and helps them adjust to the new, harsh realities of their daily life. The IDFWO is the sole organization representing over 8000 widows and orphans under the age of 30, victims of Israeli wars starting from the War of Independence (1948) through the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, the Lebanon War, the Intifada in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and up to the recent war in Lebanon in 2006.

IDFWO chairwoman, Nava Shoham: ”The memory of that horrible moment, when I was told of Raanan’s death; the fear for my children's future: Lior, who was then 6 years old and Hagar, only 8 months old; my own despair, the helplessness, the uncertainty.
So many unanswered questions. These memories are still with me when I meet, as part of my role as chairwoman of the IDFWO, every new widow and orphan, who are now facing these very same challenges. As chairwoman of the IDFWO, I have been living in hope that a day will come when I will close our office door for the last time. Sadly, in the last few years, too many young new widows, some with small children, some pregnant, have joined us instead”.The State of Israel and the Jewish people are currently undergoing one of the most difficult times in their history. Despite our wish to live in peace with our neighbors, we are subject to terror attacks in our very homes. The price we are paying is unimaginably high.But today, with the rise in anti-Semitism around the world we can only be thankful for the existence of the state of Israel, which would never allow another holocaust.
We have to prove to the world that we are united; we each bear a responsibility, wherever we may be. Our strength lies in our unity and morality.

We in Israel pay the price in blood and we need your help and support.

Our sages coined the expression "kol Yisrael arevim zeh lazeh” – all Israel is responsible for one another.
United we must stand in defense of our homeland.
This is what bonds us all together is this land – the Promised Land.

The State of Israel is doing its best within its limited resources.
We try to step in where the government cannot.
Therefore, we are asking for your support in the following:
  1. Scholarships for students – while the government covers the orphans' tuition fees, some families are unable to provide students with textbooks, living expenses on campus and so on.
  2. Bar/Bat Mitzvah gifts and celebrations at the President's residence – an annual event, celebrating the children's coming of age.
  3. Annual summer camp in the United States – designed to strengthen the bonds between our children and Jewish American children.
  4. Mazal Tov wedding gift – to help orphans who get married start their new family.
  5. Holiday celebrations and day trips, especially on weekends and Jewish holidays, to ease the loneliness of the widows and orphans in the most difficult times.
  6. Special event honoring IDF orphans enlisting in the army or national service.
  7. Assistance with health expenses that are not covered by the National Health Law.

"Ose shalom bimromav hu ya'ase shalom aleynu ve'al kol Israel"

Your donation symbolizes our unity as Jews and our shared support of the State
of Israel – the only true home for the Jewish people.


Sincerely yours,
Nava Shoham - Chairwoman
IDF Widows & Orphans Organization
Blum web design