On April 4, 1968, Rabbi Moshe and Miriam Levinger, a visionary couple committed to restoring the Biblical Heartland, registered themselves and dozens of other like-minded devotees of the Land of Israel to stay at Hebron’s Park Hotel. Just ten months after the People of Israel liberated Hebron and the rest of the Biblical Heartland during the Six Day War in 1967, this dedicated group of pioneers excitedly planned to hold the city’s first Passover Seder in several decades.

Doing so was no easy undertaking. The Levingers paid the hotel’s Arab owner a large sum of money, and making its kitchen kosher for Passover required a great deal of time and effort. Yet, the pioneers remained steadfast, and that Passover, they conducted, from Hebron a Seder that celebrated the Children of Israel’s exodus from Egypt as well as Hebron’s liberation ten months earlier!

After the Passover holiday, the bold group of pioneers could not in good conscience leave Hebron without a newly restored Jewish community in the city. Recognizing their unwavering determination, Israel’s Labor government offered to temporarily move the pioneers to a nearby military compound in Hebron. Only two years later, in 1970, Prime Minister Golda Meir initiated a permanent arrangement authorizing the establishment, on the hilltops adjacent to the ancient city, of the new community of “Kiryat Arba,” named after the Biblical title for Hebron.

From the time of its founding, living in Kiryat Arba has required a great deal of self-sacrifice on the part of its residents. To this day, travel to population centers like Jerusalem remains an inconvenient hassle for many residents. Fortunately, families in Kiryat Arba who have children with special needs are served by a local child development center “Neve Avraham.”

For many years, generous CFOIC Heartland donors have played a key role in ensuring that Neve Avraham has the professional staff and resources to provide critical support, therapeutic treatment and education services for the children who attend the center. Having been in operation for almost 50 years, Neve Avraham’s equipment has experienced much wear and tear. Now, Neve Avraham needs your support to acquire new computers and better equipment. Your gift today will give special needs children in Kiryat Arba modern tools to help and prepare them to thrive for years and generations to come!