EL AL | Atmosphere

Bereaved parents and siblings on a skiing trip to Bulgaria

Photos: PR

organization sends care packages to families, as well as provides financial support. Since the start of the Iron Swords War alone, 250 scholarships have been awarded to bereaved brothers and sisters, with each one amounting to NIS 7,200. Crossing borders Oren Gundars’ vision does not stop at the country’s borders. Or L’Mishpachot also organizes trips for delegations of bereaved parents to go and meet Jewish communities around the world. These events are also attended by Israeli ambassadors who come to show solidarity with local Jewish

communities, as well as with the bereaved parents. On these trips, forests are planted in memory of the fallen, new Torah scrolls are brought to synagogues, etc. Other types of trips are also organized, such as recreational, family-focused trips (including to Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Georgia), providing space and time for bereaved families to spend quality time together and try to feel the pulse of life again. One of the organization’s most exciting initiatives is the families’ choir. Singing is an incredible way of transforming pain into harmony and empowerment, as everyone works on getting ready to perform

on stage together. Oren Gundars is already eager to share her next big dream: “I’d love to see our choir perform at the White House - and I believe anything is possible”, she says. The living testimony of the positive impact Or L’Mishpachot has had over the years, is to be found in the feedback coming from the families themselves, with many parents writing to Oren Gundars to tell her how she helped them retrieve the will to go on living. For those who have experienced the most painful

of losses, that is no small feat. For donations and joining the association: or4family.org.il ˆ

IDF Lieutenant-Colonel Irit Oren Gundars: “Our goal is not to replace the many invaluable official institutions operating in Israel, but to add an extra layer. The organization focuses on the present, on trying to see how bereavement can also be a moment in which new outlooks on life can occur”

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ATMOSPHERE MAY 2026