Adoption Program

Dear Sponsors, I hope this message finds you well. As my program comes to an end in July 2025, I want to take a moment to sincerely thank you for your generosity and support over the past 2 years I have been a part of this program. Your sponsorship has made a real difference in my student life, helping me focus on my studies without worry. This program has provided me with stability and allowed me to stay energized and engaged, both in the classroom and in my extracurricular activities. It allowed me to fully immerse myself in my coursework, connect with my peers, and contribute meaningfully to my community. Over the past year, I’ve grown not only academically, but personally and once the program concludes, I plan to continue living in Jerusalem, be an active member of my community and pursue a career in Public Relations and Marketing. I am truly grateful for the role you’ve played in my journey and for believing in my potential. Wishing you continued success, health, and happiness in all that you do. As well as peace and security for the Nation of Israel.  With gratitude, Atarah

Coming from Cleveland, OH in the United States, Michael made Aliyah (immigrated to Israel) on 25 December 2019.  His wife Elisheva, coming from Brooklyn, NY, made Aliyah on 25 April 2018. The two met at a friend's wedding here in Israel. One year later they were married! Michael shared his love for Israel that came from his grandfather, who was a Holocaust survivor.  His grandfather came to Israel in the 1950s, then eventually settled in America. In honor of his grandfather, Michael came to Israel to study Torah. After two years in Israel, he knew without doubt that this was his forever home. “I just knew I was staying.”  Michael is writing finals for his first year in Occupational Therapy, and he is also teaching English part-time in Beit Shemesh.  Elishiva was educated in Brooklyn at a school that supported Zionism and Israel. At the age of eighteen, she attended an Israeli seminar which inspired her to move to Israel. She completed her year of National Service in Israel and then enrolled at Bar-Ilan University. Elishiva has been studying Biotechnology for the past six years and is working to obtain her PHD doctorate degree. Every day, she drives to the lab in Tel Aviv where she is currently closing a project. Her goal for next year is to teach at the University. The couple has dreams of establishing their roots in the soil of Israel and eventually having a family. Their hopes and dreams are to build long-term relationships and live a God-centered life.

Dear sponsors, Thank you for everything! I remember the day of the interview for the program well. Cold and rain. February. The hardest winter of my life. I am alone in Jerusalem. Loneliness, poverty. It is not clear why I am here, how to live here and for what purpose. I came to Jerusalem from St. Petersburg out of interest in finding myself in the city of Christ. In my bag was a diploma as a choir conductor, a teacher of philosophy and 200 dollars. The Lord gave me a house near the Saint-Simon Monastery, where, according to legend, Simeon the God-Receiver lived, who saw the Messiah in Christ. An old empty apartment, surrounded by noisy construction. A bus stops opposite the front door. Direct bus #13 to your office. What did your help mean to me? Every day and month, living in Jerusalem, I did not know what awaited me, where I would earn money for housing and food. But I knew one thing for sure: twice a month I could come to your office and get a huge basket of groceries, which had everything and more. Fruits, vegetables, milk, buckwheat (our favorite grain in Russia), pasta, a whole chicken (which we shared with my yard cats with great pleasure and joy), even avocado, canned tuna and much, much more! I don’t know how I would have survived without it. And also travel compensation. At the interview for the program, they asked me what they could pray for me. I said, a job in my specialty and a musical instrument. I will call this the hardest year of my life - transformation. I found work as a choir conductor, headed a choir of Russian-speaking grandmothers in Jerusalem and a children's ensemble in Tel Aviv. I got private vocal and piano students. In my apartment, furnished with furniture found on the streets of Jerusalem, I now have the best instrument in my life - an electric piano. Yes, I am still lonely and barely have enough money, but my life has changed a lot and now I stand firmly on my feet. In Jerusalem, I learned new ways of communicating with myself, the world and the people around me. I communicate with God. A deep bow to all of you, dear sponsors. I pray for you and with great gratitude I will remember everything you have done for me. God works through people. Through your hands, the Lord helped me too. It is symbolic that the end of the program coincided with my departure from this apartment. A new life awaits me, in better conditions, without construction and with air conditioning. Thank you for your participation in the transformation of my life. I will never forget this. God bless you, dear sponsors!!!     Shaul Petrovitsky, Jerusalem,

Zoe Zweier made Aliyah (immigrated to Israel) on the 28th of August 2021 from Melbourne, Australia. Since she was young, it was Zoe’s dream to one day make Aliyah. This dream was inspired by her grandmother, who was one of the first to make Aliyah before 1948, when Israel was still under British Mandate. Zoe was inspired by her grandmother’s courage and captivated by the stories her grandmother shared. Eventually, her grandparents moved to Australia and settled in a Jewish community in Melbourne. Zoe’s heart was set on one day reestablishing her Jewish roots in the land of her forefathers. In 2021, at the age of twenty-one, she made Aliyah all by herself, without her family. Zoe embarked on a new adventure. She completed her year of National service on a Kibbutz in the North before moving to Jerusalem. She started with her studies (Bachelor in Education) online while working full time as a teacher at an Anglican school. In the school, she works with Christians, Jews, and Muslims, all united. Zoe mentioned how blessed she felt working with these unique students who inspire her as a teacher. In her free time, she likes to go up North to hike or camp and just enjoy nature.

Dear Sponsors, Please accept my warmest greetings, I want to express my sincere gratitude for all the support you gave me throughout the year through the Bridges for Peace program, it was a great help and joy. I want to highlight your generosity, your time, effort, joy and empathy that you had with me. In this period, in addition to receiving monthly food kits, I received gift cards, contributions for transportation .... was very significant for me, every time I went, it was a great surprise, joy and gratitude to Hashem and to you to see all that you contributed to me. I reinstate my gratitude for the unconditional support and solidarity, wishing you that all that mitzvah that you do, Hashem bless you greatly, in listening to your requests and desires of your hearts and grant them according to His perfect will and if you ever need my help with the help of G-d to be able to collaborate with you. May Hashem bring you peace soon! I would also like to thank the entire team of Bridges for Peace. With love and gratitude. Miriam

Dear sponsors, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for your support. We have been receiving food packages from your organization for a year, but the program is now coming to an end. Your participation helped us reduce expenses in our family. The money saved went to pay for the education of our youngest son at the Havat Hanuar ha Tzioni school. In addition, since I am the only one providing for the family (the eldest son serves in the Israeli army, and my husband remained in Ukraine), your food packages helped us to survive financially. Thanks to you and the people working in your organization, we not only receive material support, but also receive a very important understanding that Israel will not abandon us in difficult times. This feeling of a strong shoulder gives us confidence that we made the right choice when we made aliyah. Thank you again for your valuable support at the beginning of our life in Israel, which I will always remember with deep respect and gratitude and wish you and your organization prosperity in your business. With gratitude, Yulia Rabenko

Hello dear sponsors, I wanted to write you a letter, because of the feelings I had the last time I came to Jerusalem to the Bridges for Peace office to get my help. I felt incredibly thankful and sentimental about the fact that some people in another country, whom I don’t know personally, helped me so much. I think that without your help I would not be able to complete my studies in the academy. I work and study so much that I barely have free time; and only because of your help, I have what I need to make a living. That’s why I feel so lucky about your help—I literally can’t imagine what I would do without it! It is also so sweet and lovely that I get this help as food—it makes me feel like I have some relatives in Jerusalem who care about me getting healthy and fresh food, and eating my vitamins and protein to stay healthy. I am very thankful that you chose to help me. I want you to know that this help is changing my life for the better and giving me opportunities to get an education. Thank you very much! With love and best wishes, Rimma G.

The Stukalin Family made Aliyah (immigrated to Israel) on the 20th of October 2022 from Moscow, Russia.  “We had a good full life in Moscow,” said Alla. Anton and Alla met each other in Moscow thirteen years ago and got married there three years later. Alla is originally from Uzbekistan and more than half of her family are Ukrainian.  The couple had their first child, Vera, a girl in 2019 and their son, Lev was born four months after the war Russia brought against Ukraine. “It was a big decision to make,” said Alla. They’ve started with very little but together they managed to have a good apartment in Moscow. Their life was full. But they didn’t want Anton to be drafted into this war where he would be forced to hurt Ukrainian people when Alla’s has family still living in Ukraine. They locked up their apartment and left with two children and four suitcases in hand. Fortunately, because Anton is Jewish they were able to make an emergency Aliyah.  Since they’ve moved here the family made an effort to integrate well into their new home. Both Anton and Alla have completed their first level of Ulpan (Learning the Hebrew language) Their oldest, Vera was recently diagnosed with Autism and is getting the essential care that she needs. “The people here take such good care of the children” Alla gratefully said. Lev, their second child on the other hand has started preschool and he is thriving. Despite the difficulties the family is deeply moved by the genuine care and support they received from the country and the people.

Dear sponsors, Hello, my name is Elizaveta S. I moved to Israel almost eight years ago. Currently, I’m a fourth-year student of the Visual Communication department at Bezalel Academy of Arts. I was lucky to join the Bridges for Peace program during my studies. It was a very intense period for me and the help I got from you was essential to me. It can be really overwhelming sometimes to be a responsible student and to work at the same time. Sometimes I didn’t have spare time and money to go grocery shopping. I literally could go two weeks with no time for grocery shopping. So I can’t even describe how essential the help you provided me was during this year. The food and the money for transportation were so vital for me so many times. When I had zero or a minus on my bank account, your help made me feel so much love and appreciation. I honestly can’t thank you enough for the opportunity you gave me. Your contribution to my study success is priceless. I’d like to thank you for all the help you so kindly provided to me. I appreciate the possibility Bridges for Peace gave me and all new Israeli youth a lot in such an uneasy time for us students. I’m very grateful for your support and love! Thank you for your kindness and for making a warm place for those who need it most.

Hello, my dear sponsors, How can I thank you for your generosity? What you’ve given me is more than just physical items. You gave me freedom during my studies to enjoy my life here in Jerusalem. With your kind sponsorship, I was able to keep up my GPA, excel in my extracurriculars, and maintain my part-time job of nannying and teaching English to three young Israeli boys. Thank you so much for sponsoring me for the past year. When I moved to Israel, it was a bit daunting, but I will say that the Bridges for Peace community has been an amazing one to be absorbed into. Thank you again, and I wish only the best for you and your family through these turbulent times. Sincerely, Scarlett

Dear Sponsors! I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your invaluable support that I received throughout the year. Thanks to your support, I was able to focus on my scientific research and studies, without being distracted by everyday worries. Your products have made my life much easier. I have saved both time and money, which has allowed me to focus more on important matters. I would especially like to note how my nutrition has improved - I began to eat more balanced and varied food, and this has certainly affected my well-being and concentration. The year on the program was very intense and productive. I conducted research on the development of a vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV), and this activity has become a real passion for me. I continue to work in this direction after completing the program, as I am sure that my research is of great importance for medicine. In the future, I plan to continue doing scientific work in the field of medicine and vaccine development in order to contribute to the fight against infectious diseases and improving human health. Thank you again for your support and faith in me. Without you my year would have been much more difficult. With respect and gratitude,  Maria M.

Hello, dear sponsors! Our names are Alexander and Alexandra. We grew up on the same street in Yekaterinburg, went to the same school, and received the same names from our parents, but our relationship took place because each of us considered it important to participate in a volunteer project for older people in our community.  As a child, Alexandra studied at a Jewish elementary school, and I realized my identity in a teenage club at the synagogue. We both actively participated in the life of the community, worked in summer camps for Jewish youth, led projects in the Hillel student organization and the Menorah community center. For example, I participated in the creation of an exhibition about the history of the Jewish community in Yekaterinburg and did several projects for the Jewish Museum in Moscow, and my wife participated in the international regional television project School with an Accent. With the beginning of the military invasion of Ukraine, everything changed for us, our family members found themselves on the other side of the border, in danger and under occupation. Therefore, when the threat of mobilization loomed over me, I immediately fled with one backpack across all of Kazakhstan, to Georgia, where Alexandra arrived after me. Despite all the difficulties, we created a home community there for guys like us who fled from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, helping them adapt and create connections with the local community in Georgia. Many of them then also decided to repatriate to Israel. We both thought about moving to Israel before the wedding, but apparently somewhere in heaven we decided that our Aliyah should happen together and be so memorable. The feeling of losing everything - home and parting with loved ones - ceased to be so painful when we moved to Israel, and here we finally felt at home at the Masa Beitar aliyah preparation program.  Now any problems don’t seem so terrible, and with God’s help, we will be able to overcome all the difficulties of adaptation in Israel and create a new home here.    Sincerely,  Alexander and Alexandra Belorusets