Leon Lefkowitz, a Jewish philanthropist from Austria, hosted 260 residents from Kibbutz Nahal Oz and a family from nearby Zikim for a vacation in Vienna with help from his family. They came for week-long visits in seven groups over the last month and a half.
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"People are sacrificing their lives and, as a Jew living abroad, I felt that it was something I could help with, to try to alleviate some of their trauma and give them hope and light, and especially someone to listen to their stories," Lefkowitz explained.
Lefkowitz and his family sponsored all of the flights, accommodation, meals and attractions such as skiing near Vienna, and a visit to a theme park and a zoo, among others. One-third of the visitors were children.
"It was very tough," Lefkowitz recounted. "Children asked me where the protected room was, not believing that we had no rocket siren alerts here. We met people with terrible trauma. People who, for the first time since the attack, managed to sleep at night. To laugh and to talk."
During the visit, Lefkowitz met with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, EU Commissioner Karoline Edtstadler, Parliament Chairman Wolfgang Sobotka, and Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig alongside his Israeli guests.
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Leon Lefkowitz organized and paid for the visits to Vienna of 260 southern Israeli residents
The guests received a warm welcome from the Austrian officials, and Van der Bellen was very moved by their stories, expressing his and his country's unwavering commitment to Israel.
The Israelis also met with Austrian journalists and shared their traumatic experiences, including in an article published in the Austrian newspaper Die Presse.
Edtstadler hosted them in her office, and Israel’s Ambassador to Austria David Roet, who also attended the meeting, said: "I participated in hundreds of meetings, but none of them was as emotional as the meeting between Minister Edtstadler and the survivors of the Hamas massacre in Nahal Oz."
Beri Meirovich from Nahal Oz recalled her experience in Vienna. "We represented the kibbutz and our country, and were taken care of very well. It was a whole week of relaxation, and a renewed sense of security. These are very good people who truly wanted to help. We plan on keeping in touch with them," she said.
This week, Lefkowitz arrived in Israel to visit Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek, and will also accompany Nahal Oz’s residents on a tour of their kibbutz. "I’m so happy that we did something good for them and managed to ease their fears somewhat," Lefkowitz said. "We also met with psychotherapy experts who said that what they went through has not happened anywhere else in the world."
"We’re returning home with renewed spirits and the strength to move on," One Nahal Oz resident said. Another resident wrote to Lefkowitz: "You’ve given us a lot of light in such a challenging time. We didn't know each other before, but meeting you felt like we've known each other for years."