A hot summer afternoon

Malki

The letter below, dated August 9, 2024, was sent to supporters and friends of the Malki Foundation in English and Hebrew versions. It is written by Arnold Roth, Malki Foundation's honorary chair.

***

Some of the most difficult moments in our lifetimes have acquired code names. I mean the sort of short-hand titles that help us bring momentous events into our conversations without addressing the significance of the date or its history.

With no sub-title, “9/11” means something deeply traumatic to most people. All on its own, “7/7” has a powerful resonance to the British and so does “3/3” for the people of Spain. For Israelis and Jews, mentioning “October 7” has required no additional words since 2023.

For my family and me, August 9 is like that.

On that date in 2001, a hot school-vacation afternoon, our lives were shattered in stages, a kind of slow-motion car accident that changed everything forever.

Initially, like all Israelis, we were stopped in our tracks by the devastating media bulletins suddenly emanating from the center of the nation’s capital about an explosion at a fast-food shop. Then the scenes of victims, mostly children, being treated by first-responders and loaded onto ambulances that screeched across Jerusalem en route to the hospitals.

Then at the more personal level, the realization among the members of my own family that no one had managed to reach our middle child, Malki, 15. Then the increasingly desperate search through the afternoon and evening hours to find her. Then the rush to the Hadassah hospital emergency room ten hours later because we heard she might be there getting urgent life-saving care. Then the phone call long after midnight, twelve hours after the massacre, from our sons who had located their sister at Abu Kabir, Israel’s national forensic medicine center in Tel Aviv, and the search was over.

We buried Malki in Jerusalem the following afternoon just before Shabbat arrived.

***

For my family, one part of the process of getting our lives and the lives of our children back to stability was centered on how to remember Malki. As it turned out, one part of that was to connect her beautiful life to good things that would go on and on after Malki was taken from us.

Establishing something that looks like today’s Malki Foundation – Keren Malki – wasn’t part of our plan until then. We were already dealing with the reality of a child, our youngest, who was catastrophically disabled – not from birth but later and not all at once but in stages. But the way we saw it, the challenge of dealing with this was personal.

We certainly didn’t see it as a campaign. We never thought the stresses and tensions, our arguments with people in authority, the despair of being ignored and humiliated, were things that would affect, or even be noticed by, other people. Dealing with a very sick or very disabled child is after all not rare and rarely adds pleasure to families’ lives. How you handle it is a personal issue that comes without a roadmap. You make decisions as best you can. Sometimes this is done in ways that are consistent with your values. But sometimes not.

When we began to think about how we could make Malki’s memory live on, it made sense to us that some of the things we learned in the battle to get better care and a better life for our youngest child could turn into a project that might help other families facing similar challenges with their own children.

We knew from experience as parents that for many families, dealing with busy medical professionals can be maddeningly frustrating. That a child with life-impairing disabilities can seem to be just another part of an overworked day for the nurses, the therapists, the technicians and the doctors. But we also knew that, for the families, that child is a world. Malki, only fifteen years old when her life was already over, understood and did wonderful things that were illuminated by that understanding.

I could easily go into details. And there are times when I do. I want as many people as possible to understand what makes the Malki Foundation special. But not in this letter.

***

As parents, my wife Frimet and I remember Malki’s life with love, longing and deep pain that doesn’t go away. But August 9 is not central to that. It’s the Jewish calendar and not the secular one that provides the context. The twentieth day of the month of Av is when we assemble beside the adjoining graves of our beloved Malki and her life-long friend Michal Raziel. It’s when we light memorial candles, say Kaddish, gather our children and their children around us, and mourn the lives that were extinguished in that grotesque, almost-incomprehensible manifestation of hatred-without-end.

The work of the Malki Foundation, like the life of the vivacious teenager whose name it carries, has no political dimension – absolutely none. It was brought into existence, and continues until today, to do good, constructive things. The goal is to ensure families who make the challenging decision to raise a child with disabilities in the family home are empowered to do that and are helped in practical ways to make their efforts as effective as possible. Those families come from literally every part of Israeli society.

But August 9 is the civil anniversary of the date when the Battle of Sbarro Pizzeria took place. I regularly write and speak (via the media) about it at a different level – a level in which politics has a large part.

I want people who know about the Malki Foundation and the very fine things it does to know that those other issues exist. They involve very harsh realities that continue to be part of my life and my wife’s. In particular, the reality that the terrorist who plotted the massacre is a woman who is alive and well, living free in Jordan today. She has spent years encouraging support for more terror of the kind that she herself inflicted on us 23 years ago. And she is America’s most wanted female fugitive.

Frimet and I write about that side of our lives regularly at a site called This Ongoing War. If you have questions about it or comments to share with us, we can be reached at thisongoingwar@gmail.com

So to be clear. The Malki Foundation doesn’t exist to advance a political agenda. Via the fine work done by its dedicated small staff and the volunteers whose invaluable inputs have been part of our story since the very first day, it exists to do one central thing – to enable people to remember Malki’s beautiful life.

Arnold Roth
Honorary Chair

In war, more than ever, the work of the Malki Foundation

A version of this article by Ely Cohen originally appeared in the Jewish Chronicle (UK) on November 16, 2023 under the title "These Israeli families need our help more than ever". 

The work of the Malki Foundation, which helps families in Israel raising a child with extreme special needs, is particularly important in the wake of October 7

From its inception, the work of the Malki Foundation, set up in 2001 in memory of Malki Roth, who was killed age 15 in a terrorist attack, has been to help ease the burden that rests on the shoulders of a specific population: families in Israel raising a child with extreme special needs.

They are among the most under-resourced people in Israel, and for a significant number of them, it’s a challenge made even harsher when, often for socio-economic reasons, they live far from Israel’s main centres.

We empower these families to keep their children at home by providing them with paramedical therapies at their homes.

Now we’re in a war that began explosively, and of the 40 children and families currently in our Therapists on Wheels programme that focuses on Israel’s periphery communities, 20 — all of them families with a child with severe disabilities — live within 15km of Israel’s Gaza border, in the heart of the warzone. [Background: "Death, destruction, debris mark borderline kibbutz communities near Gaza", JNS, October 17, 2023]

Realising how close some families are to the currently active battlefields, we have been texting and calling families who, in some cases, have got Malki Foundation’s support for years.

We have managed to get in touch with all of them, getting some sense of their needs and what we can do to help, and thankfully, all are physically fine. As for trauma, only time will tell.

Our speech therapist lives in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz just 1.5 kilometers from the Gaza border. Hamas terrorists took over Kfar-Aza on October 7, and hostages were taken.

It’s a story of horror, as our therapist described in a WhatsApp message she sent almost two days after the attack. “The IDF evacuated us, and we are on the way to Eilat. What we survived is a miracle…”

Netiv HaAsara is a moshav right on the Gaza border. It, too, was invaded by Hamas terrorists. The family of an eight-year-old child with severe disabilities, which is supported by the Malki Foundation program, lives there.

The parents were reluctant to share much detail but thanked us for staying in touch and for our prayers. We were left pondering what the family must have endured until the IDF rescued them.

Because we have long-running relations with the families, it’s evident that some of the families need much more help while settling into a new and temporary home.

A family with a disabled child left Ashkelon for Rishon Letzion after a missile hit their parking lot and totaled their custom-fitted, wheelchair-accessible vehicle. It will take three months until they can get a new car modified for their child’s needs, and in the meantime the family is housebound.

One family rushed to leave the town as they were suffering from endless amounts of missiles. As the family had a small car, they had no room for some of the special equipment their child needed. It has been over a week since, but the traumatised parents are too frightened to go back and pick up the equipment.

As schools in the south are not all open yet, children have been unable to receive the necessary paramedical therapies. However, the Malki Foundation has been providing therapy sessions at the children’s homes, ensuring the continuity of their treatments.

Due to the special relationships we have forged over the years, we are working on matching relocated families with a temporary therapist to maintain treatment continuity. It’s a privilege - but also a heavy obligation for us.

Providing emotional and physical support to families during their child’s therapy is as important as the therapy itself.

Our work has always been about conveying to the family that we stand with them and let them know someone is there to help, support, and advise. That while fighting for their child, they are not entirely alone.

*  *  *

An emergency support fund was established in the past two weeks by Malki Foundation UK. Contact us at office@malkifoundation.org.uk or in the UK at phone number 0203-637-4245

Details and how to give your support are here. Or click on the thumbnail image at left.

Ely Cohen is the director of Keren Malki, Jerusalem, The Malki Foundation UK, Registered United Kingdom Charity No. 1164793, raises funds for Keren Malki. 

An emergency services update: Being in a war

 

Registered UK Charity 1164793
Official Address: The Limes, 1339 High Road, Whetstone, London N20 9HR
www.MalkiFoundation.org.uk

Malki Foundation UK (registered in the United Kingdom as a charity - number 1164793) invites you to take part in our emergency services update focusing on the families we serve in Israel’s southern border communities.

Thursday, October 26, 2023
Starting at 7:45 pm UK time
Via ZOOM

• Children with disabilities
• The families who love them
• Being in a war
  
  

Founded in Israel in 2001, the Malki Foundation undertook the mission of empowering and helping families of children with extreme special needs in concrete ways. In the years since then, more than 3,000 families from Israel’s Christian, Druze, Muslim and Jewish populations have benefited from our programs.

The war that erupted on Shabbat, October 7, 2023, has upended Israel and the region, as well as Israeli families from every part of the socio-demographic spectrum. The work of the Malki Foundation is suddenly more challenging and dramatically more relevant. How we are now intervening to help families in Israel’s periphery, especially the south, is an absorbing narrative we believe you will want to know about.

Via Zoom from London, Geoffrey Hartnell, the chair of Malki Foundation UK’s board of trustees will lead a conversation with two guests in Israel: Arnold Roth, who, with his wife Frimet founded the Malki Foundation and serves as its honorary chair, and Ely Cohen, who directs Malki Foundation’s activities from Jerusalem.

On the agenda:

• The difficulties the Malki Foundation faces following the horrendous attack on Israel by Hamas
• The impact on families and children with severe disabilities and the essential therapies we deliver
• How in these new and difficult conditions we aim to help these families get through the trauma.

You are invited to join the conversation! Click the “I will be attending” button below to reserve your place in this Zoom live event.

I WILL BE ATTENDING

If for any reason the "I will be attending" button fails to get you to the sign-up form, please email your contact details to alison@malkifoundation.org.uk

A link to the online Zoom event will be emailed to you once you are registered.

War

Image Source: Jerusalem Post

A note to the Malki Foundation’s friends and supporters

October 8, 2023

From its inception, the work of the Malki Foundation has been to help ease the burden that rests on the shoulders of a specific population: families in Israel raising a child with extreme special needs. They number in the thousands and they are among the most under-resourced people in this country.

As most of us realize, burdens like theirs are not distributed equally. But for a significant number of the families, it’s a challenge made even harsher when, often for socio-economic reasons, they live far from Israel’s main centers.

Now we’re in a war that began explosively yesterday and no one can say when it will end.

From our office in Jerusalem this morning, realizing how close some of them living in Israel’s periphery communities are to the currently-active battlefields, we started reaching out. We have been texting and calling families who in some cases have gotten Malki Foundation’s support for years. They are people and stories we know well. I felt we had to get some sense of what their needs are - specifically now - and what we can do to help.

More than a dozen of the children with severe disabilities that are in our programs live in what is today the combat zone. Four of our therapists do too.

The effort to make contact has been stressful and is ongoing. But as I write this, we have managed to touch base with all of them and thankfully all are physically fine. As for trauma and shock, only time will tell.

One of our speech therapists is a resident of Kfar Aza, a kibbutz village located between Netivot and Sderot and just 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from the Gaza border. It’s in the news here today for the worst of reasons: it was taken over by Hamas terrorists yesterday and hostages were taken. It’s an unfolding story of horror.

It took hours to reach our therapist. When I got through, she responded: "The IDF has evacuated us and we are on the way to Elat. What we survived is a miracle. May we all know better, quieter days."

Netiv HaAsara is a moshav of about 900 residents that sits practically on the Gaza border. It too was invaded by Hamas terrorists yesterday. The family of an eight-year-old child with severe disabilities and which is supported by one of Malki Foundation’s programs lives there. They were reluctant to share much detail but thanked us for staying in touch and for our prayers. I was left pondering what the family must have endured until the IDF rescued them.

Our work has always been about conveying to the family that we stand with them. We do practical things, of course, mostly focused on vital equipment and essential therapies that, for reasons hard to comprehend, they find hard or impossible to get via Government of Israel channels.

Beyond that, it’s important that we let them know someone is there to help, to support, even to advise. That in fighting for their child they are not entirely alone.

May we and they all be blessed from Above to quickly see better and more peaceful times.

Ely Cohen
Director of Programs
The Malki Foundation
Jerusalem

At Chanukah, an appeal for your support

December 2022

A large portion of the financial support we get throughout the year for our work comes from individuals like you who value and acknowledge the work we do at Keren Malki. We are almost at the conclusion of the end-of-year giving season and I am writing now to ask you to have us in mind.

No one in Israel does what we do at the Malki Foundation. The way we operate is unique in a very positive sense. The impact of what we do is without a doubt terrific.

Unfortunately providing support to families who choose to give a child with serious disabilities the kind of excellent care that happens when the child lives at home rather than in institutional care simply does not rank high enough on the Israeli government's list of budget priorities.

This will eventually change. Until it does, we are doing our best to reach out to families and provide our services.

But right now, we have about a hundred such families on our waiting list. We want to admit them to one of our three support programs - but cannot because of our budget limitations. Over the past 6 months, we enrolled an additional 12 families in our programs. And with your help, we hope to bring in all those families in the near future,

The impact of our work with children with disabilities at their homes surrounded by the warmth of the families and with the ongoing interaction of parents is unique and the results are amazing.

Meet Maayan. Today an officer in the IDF and age 22, he joined our program as a child with severe disabilities over fifteen years ago. 

Maayan describes the importance of the therapy treatments he received at that time from the Malki Foundation: 

“Cerebral Palsy will always be part of my life but without the structure and support my parents gave me, and the therapies with the Malki Foundation’s help, I could not have gotten to where I now am. Childhood was a critical time, laying down the foundations for the habits and dreams that empower me today.”

There's more about Maayan’s inspirational journey here.

Let us all take part in giving the Malki Foundation kids a chance to become self-sufficient! Our secure online donations page makes that easy and safe. It's here.

If you can contribute, please know that your donation will let us do what we very much want to do - expand the community of families caring for a child with extreme special needs who are supported in their efforts by the Malki Foundation.

On behalf of  the Malki Foundation,

Happy Chanukah,

Ely Cohen,

Director

Israel's IDF pays tribute to Malki's life

Over on the YouTube page of the Israel Defense Forces, there's a new video that was published this past week to coincide with the 21st anniversary of the awful events at a Jerusalem pizzeria in 2001.

Entitled "The Sbarro Massacre: The Value of Life over Violence", it comes with this summary prepared we imagine by the documentary film makers in the office of the IDF Spokesperson:

After losing his daughter Malki in the Sbarro Massacre 21 years ago, Arnold Roth and his family chose to take the example she showed in life and share it with others. For the terrorists who killed her—and thousands of others over the years—violence and murder is their end goal. For us, life is precious and we do everything to protect, preserve and sanctify it in every way possible. http://www.kerenmalki.org/

We identify with every word. And we're proud and pleased that the work of the Malki Foundation, and the very difficult circumstances that led to its establishment, have gotten this kind of recognition. 

It had already attracted several thousand views in its first couple of days of online presence,

Here's the English language version:

There are separate versions with French subtitles and Spanish subtitles. Please share them with your friends and help us reach wider audiences who need to know about Malki's life and the good work done in her name.

Golfing for good

We're grateful to Robert Eisner, a trustee of Malki Foundation UK, for this report.

The Asher Teper Memorial Golf Day (ATMGD) has been taking place annually for the past 17 years. 

It was established to honour the memory of Asher Teper who died in 2005 at the age of 58 from cancer. He established Medivet Veterinary Group in the UK, after emigrating from South Africa. He was also a founding member of Hebrew Order of David (HOD), which annually runs this charity golf day. 

I have been fortunate to be on the ATMGD committee for the last 10 years helping organise the day with 5 other HOD members. My primary responsibility, apart from generally agreeing on the days' format and venue, has been dealing with the three charities and their volunteers and arranging the raffle prizes and silent auction items. 

In the past the event has always been held at Hartsbourne Country Club but this year was moved to the prestigious Brocket Hall Golf Club. 

As always, the day sold out very quickly and was a huge success with many golfers asking to sign up for next year. 

The three charities chosen this year were Camp Simcha, Manna (UK arm of Meir Panim) and Malki Foundation UK. At the dinner afterwards, each charity was given the opportunity to talk about the work that they do. 

This year we raised £27,000 which was our best year ever. Over the last seventeen years, the ATMGD has raised more than £300,000 for charity.

Twenty percent goes to the HOD Charitable Trust to be distributed among the various charities they support.

Scenes from this very successful fund-raising event:

The course

The committee

The winning team members with Sandra Teper

Help us deliver Malki Foundation Purim Mishloach Manot baskets...

JOIN US THIS PURIM 
by enabling us to deliver a beautiful Mishloach Manot basket
in your name to the doorstep of the children and families
supported via Malki Foundation!

Join us on Purim to brighten the challenging lives of children with disabilities and the families supported via Malki Foundation. We will bring joy and excitement to the families’ homes by delivering a beautiful Mishloach Manot basket in your name filled with a variety of products, to their doorstep.

(Note: Respecting their privacy, we do not reveal the names of families or children who are supported by the work of the Malki Foundation.)

Purim this year is observed starting during the evening hours of March 16, 2022. (If you are in Jerusalem, you likely know that it's a day later here - and is called Shushan Purim.) 

Your donation of the cost of a basket enables us to deliver Mishloach Manot to one family in your name while also helping to fund our support of many additional children and their families. Order more than one basket and the price per basket is discounted.

Click the link below (depending on where you are ordering from) for prices in your currency and to order a basket to be sent to one of the Israeli families we support on behalf of you and your family:

• UNITED STATES (and everywhere else not listed) - USD
• AUSTRALIA - AUD
• UNITED KINGDOM - GBP
• ISRAEL - עברית - תשלום בשקלים - NIS 
• ISRAEL - in English - NIS

For more information please contact us at +972-2-567-0602, or by email at office@kerenmalki.org

Israel Sea to Sea Trek: An invitation to join us

Click the poster to enlarge

The good people at Malki Foundation UK in London working in partnership with Jewish Child's Day have organized an outstanding  fund-raising event that in addition to being an unforgettable experience is also intended to raise much needed funds for these two incredible charities.

Israel Sea to Sea Trek (also known as The Yam L’Yam Trek, connects the Israel's Mediterranean coast (Yam HaTichon) with the Sea of Galilee (Yam HaKinneret), the lowest freshwater lake on earth!.

It's scheduled to run for six days starting May 1, 2022 and entails four consecutive days of trekking covering a distance of some 60 km.

Days will start around 7am with breakfast and an 8am departure by coach/bus.

For UK-based participants, the cost is £350 registration fee per person which includes flights from the UK, transfers, hotels and meals. And in addition a mandatory £2,500 minimum-sponsorship commitment per person via fundraising (or self-funded).

We are currently (February 2022) working on logistic details and prices for participants joining the Sea to Sea Trek from the United States, Australia and elsewhere. 

Details can be found by clicking on this link.

All funds raised will be split equally between the two charities, Jewish Child's Day and Malki Foundation UK.

This is going to be an amazing and very worthwhile experience.

Be in touch with questions by contacting
Kathryn Forro at Malki Foundation UK
Telephone +44 (0) 20 3637 4205
Email: office@malkifoundation.org.uk

The power to communicate

Over on the Malki Foundation website, we have written in the past about Dror who, together with his dedicated parents and therapist, is defying the odds

Dror is almost 5 years old. The goal that has been set for him is to move beyond single word requests so as to express feelings, interests, requests, participation in what is happening around him. 

The latest step in the process: using a communication board. 

Today we received this update from his speech therapist:

"Moria (Dor's mother) is very excited. She is getting into it and Dror is paying more attention when she speaks to him using it (communication board). It will take quite a while until Dror will be able to create a short sentence by himself but he has already reached the point where he fully understands the power that communication gives him. He laughs when he requests something that he knows he cannot get now. And then he repeats over and over again, just like a normal kid!"

As we have learned again and again when working with Malki Foundation families, when you have determination and match it with hard work, you can sometimes achieve the unachievable.

A virtual whisky journey? Yes, and good causes benefit

Malki Foundation UK has joined with Jewish Child’s Day to arrange a Virtual Whisky Journey to take place in your home, complete with fine beverages, enjoyable snack foods, a convivial atmosphere and the guidance and leadership of noted aficionado, Dr Morris (Maish) Weinstein.

Thursday 26th November, 2020 commencing at 8:00 pm UK time.

As a participant and in preparation for this tasty experience, you will be provided via delivery to your home with five selected whisky miniatures before the event. They include at least one winner of the World Whiskies Awards. 

In addition, there will be kosher biltong and chocolate goodies.

The event is a fund raiser with proceeds being shared equally between Jewish Child’s Day and Malki Foundation UK in support of the programs of each organization to benefit children in Israel.

A modest £40 secures your place.

Registration is of course essential. Please click here to do that.

UPDATE: It's sold out. Sorry to those who missed out. Stay tuned for announcements of upcoming great events that support the Malki Foundation's really fine work.

Enchanted by Nelleke Folosade

Malki Foundation UK had the privilege and pleasure of hosting a special Black Tie Opera night of music with Nelleke Folosade on July 5, 2020.

The recital, beamed via YouTube to an audience in several countries as part of our Lockdown Treats series, benefitted the work of the Malki Foundation as explained in his opening comments by Malki Foundation UK Chairman of Trustees, Geoff Hartnell.

Nell is a founder of the crossover-classical music group Celeste and has toured and performed with the Aled Jones, Russell Watson, Katherine Jenkins and other notable singers.

Ms Folosade's performance for the Malki Foundation included these pieces (in this order):

• Aria: “Ach, ich fuhl’s” from Mozart's "The Magic Flute" (Die Zauberflöte) K.620
• Quella Fiamma – Benedetto Marcello
• O del mio dolce ardour from "Paride ed Elena", an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck
• Alma del core – Antonio Caldara
• Laudate Dominum – Mozart 
• Ave Maria – Schubert 
• Piercing Eyes - Haydn
• Ständchen - Schubert
• Dido’s Lament from "Dido and Aeneas" - Purcell
• Sure on this Shining Night - Barber
• Summertime from "Porgy and Bess" – Gershwin 
• Fair House of Joy – Quilter 
• Chants d’Auvergne - Canterloube
• Après un rêve - Fauré
• Silent Noon – Vaughn Williams 
• Just the Way You Look Tonight – Jerome Kern
• Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man from "Showboat" - music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

We hope you will join us at one of our future Lockdown Treat events. 

Books for kids!

It's Hebrew Book Month and we're thrilled to say how glad we are to benefit from an act of generosity from Israel's second-largest bookstore chain Tzomet Sfarim.

They have just delivered this box of delightful childrens books which, over the next few days, we plan to distribute to children with disabilities who are in the Malki Foundation programs.

Many of the children we support are still staying safe at home while the pandemic limits their options and those of their families. We hope these books will brighten their days.

Special thanks to Lidor Levy from Tzomet Sfarim for answering our request so quickly and generously. And of course to Keren Naftali Avni for making the connection.

Steve the Barman hosts a free-of-charge Couples' Cocktail lockdown treat for Malki Foundation's friends

What's happening?

Learn from the epxert, Steve the Barman, and become adept at making some fruity fresh cocktails to liven up your lockdown!

So much more than watching a demonstration! This is Zoom at its best. You are using what you have in your space and getting personal feedback.

And... show your support at the same time for the work of the Malki Foundation that, of course, continues even during lockdowns. Because that's what families do.

When?

• Thursday June 11, 2020 with Steve the Barman
• 8:00 pm UK time. In New York, Washington and Boston, it's 3:00 pm. 
• And if you're in Australia, we hope you're getting a good night's sleep.

Click here to register. It's free of charge.

Don't live in the UK?

It's important for us to say this clearly. This event is produced by Malki Foundation UK and is coming from London. But you don't have to. It's open to participants from everywhere. Anywhere in the world.

You're very welcome!

About our presenter

Here's what Steve the Barman says about his work.

You’ve got a special occasion coming up - whether a Hen Party, a birthday, a team-building day. You’re going to want to hire me because not only do I help you create much needed WOW, but you’ll LOVE that I make it memorable for years to come. You hire me and I take care of the rest! I get hired a lot these days as a Comedic and Fun Entertainer. Gone are the days where i get involved in the head down and serve kind of Events. Instead, I like to shape events. I like to make sure everyone has a smile on their face. And I like to make sure that people wake up the next morning thinking, WOW, what a great night.

How can you say no? See you there!

A free-of-charge lockdown treat for Malki Foundation's friends: A cooking class

Not another boring Zoom session, but a chance for the whole family to have some genuine online fun. 

What's happening?

• A cooking class with UK cooking sensation Denise Phillips.
• You will learn the secrets of producing a scrumptious chocolate surprise.
• Everyone who signs up will get a £20 voocher off a Cooking with Denise class.
• And a chance to win a signed free cookbook.

Join from the comfort of your own kitchen and quickly be in a position to make delicious treats.

And... show your support at the same time for the work of the Malki Foundation that, of course, continues even during lockdowns. Because that's what families do.

When?

• Parent and Child Cooking Class
• Wednesday June 10, 2020
• 11:00 am UK time
• (In Israel, that's 1:00 pm. And in Sydney and Melbourne, it's 8:00 pm. In the United States, we hope you get a good night's sleep.) 

Click here to register. 

Don't live in the UK? 

It's important for us to say this clearly. This event is produced by Malki Foundation UK and is coming from London. But you don't have to. It's open to participants from everywhere. Anywhere in the world. 

You're very welcome!

About our presenter

Denise Phillips is the UK’s leading Jewish chef and cookery writer. She offers a wide range of cookery classes and an array of mouthwatering modern stylish recipes through this website, her books and in the media.

Denise has over 25 years experience and trained with renowned restaurateur Prue Leith before setting up her own successful catering business. Her quest was always to create Jewish cooking with exceptional style and a rich visual look.

Her modern approach to kosher cookery has been showcased on a myriad of TV shows including appearances on on ITV 2 and DKW Channel TV. Denise regular contributes the culinary section on The Jewish Hour and the Jewish Views. he's appeared on BBC Radio London with Robert Elms and many more and writes a weekly food column in the Jewish News as well as being a regular contributor for the Jewish Chronicle, Jewish Recorder and Jewish Vegetarian Society.

See you in the kitchen!

Join us! The Maccabi GB Community Fun Run @ Home Online

We're doing an event.

What is it and when? 

On Sunday May 24, 2020 we will be participating in the Maccabi GB Community Fun Run @ Home Online and asking you to run, walk, hop or skip 1km, 5km or 10km at home, whilst getting sponsored to do so.

Get inspired!

You don’t need to be super-fit to take part. We want you to walk, hop, skip, or run 1Km, 5km or 10km – the choice is completely up to you!

This could be going on a family walk or run as part of your daily exercise. Skipping around your garden. Going up and down your stairs at home. Even taking part while seated… by marching. Hop to the top of your road and back.

There are a number of ways to get involved – ranging from a 5km or 10km run, a family walk, skipping around the garden, even sitting on the couch and marching. There are no rules (apart from the current Government Guidelines on how to exercise safely during this time).

The main objective is engaging the whole community while getting active and raising money for Malki Foundation UK and our services.

Sign up and take part!
It’s free to sign up! Click here now to register and to start raising much-needed funds for the Malki Foundation.

On the day itself: Sunday May 24, 2020
You have all day to complete your challenge at home. All we ask of you is that you post videos and pictures on social media of you and your family completing your challenge.

Social Media!
We want to see you all getting involved! Share images and videos of your training and of your challenge including the distance, your route and pictures of you and your family on social media – via Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram - #CFRonline and tag @MalkiFoundation.

Register Now

A national day of remembering

Tuesday - today - is Yom Hazikaron here in Israel, Memorial Day, a day of national reflection and introspection when Israelis unite and remember the huge price paid by so many so that we can live in this country and make productive and peaceful lives.

You may be aware that the Malki Foundation is named for Malka Chana Roth.

Malki's younger sister, Rivki Roth Rappaport, was interviewed for Yom Hazikaron in the community where she lives with her husband and children. She and other members of bereaved families spoke about their loved ones and the unbearable loss.

Please spend a few minutes to watch and share your thoughts in the comments. (Click on "CC" if the English-language subtitles do not automatically appear.)

Malki Foundation says "Help save UK Charities"

The Malki Foundation UK (the London-based charity and support organization that provides invaluable backing to the Israel-focused work of the Malki Foundation) along with its partners is proud to be taking part in the National 2.6 Challenge to help save UK Charities.

They are inviting you, your family and friends to take part in the Malki Foundation UK Skip For 26 Challenge on Sunday April 26, 2020, to help to save the UK’s charities.

The Covid-19 pandemic is having a catastrophic effect on UK charities. It's no secret that billions of pounds of vital donation funds have been lost. Charities depend on income from fundraising events and thousands have been cancelled or postponed. 

Malki Foundation had teams in the Jerusalem Marathon, in Tough Mudder and in the London Marathon which was to have taken place this coming Sunday 26 April.

London-based Rob Taub, who is the driving force behind Malki Foundation UK, writes that 

In response, the UK’s sports event industry has come together to create The 2.6 Challenge, a national fundraising campaign to Save the UK’s Charities. All activities are based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 and are to take place on Sunday 26 April. How can you participate?
Ask for sponsorship to Skip For 26 on Sunday 26th April, examples:

• 26 minutes of skipping
• 26 skips
• 26 seconds of skipping
• 2.6 minutes of skipping

If you can't skip don't worry you can dream up an activity based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 that suits your skills and complete it on Sunday 26 April. Contact Rob to setup your own page.

That's Rob in the YouTube clip below.

Every pound of income generated will go towards saving UK charities. Donations will be held in a central fund and administered by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). Post event, CAF will distribute the central fund based on the ratio of money raised by each participating charity through the combined total income.

Join this worthy effort and Skip for 26

Please share and tag all you do with #skipfor26 @MalkiFoundation and #twopointsixchallenge

Focus on a family: Special times, special challenges

Another reminder today that while the Coronavirus crisis has impacted everyone everywhere, it's an impact that falls unequally. 

And as our recent posts here on this site and via our Facebook page (here) underscore, the work of the Malki Foundation hasn't stopped. 

Danny is five years old. Partly blind, and diagnosed with Down Syndrome, he can crawl short distances and take a step or two with support. He uses simple sounds and gestures to make himself understood and responds to, and understands, simple instructions.

We spoke with his mother this week. Unsurprisingly, the focus of the conversation was on the challenges that accompany families raising a child with special needs - challenges which are sharpened at times like these.

"The kindergarten gave us an iPad to help with communication. But Danny is not really co-operative. We are hoping that will slowly improve over time. We don't have a walker at home or any other equipment which makes physiotherapy very difficult. We are doing the best we can under the circumstances."

Danny's progress has been helped by the MEDEK therapies he has gotten with the Malki Foundation's help. That's him (with his face obscured for privacy reasons - and Danny is not his real name) in the recently-snapped photo above.

The picture shows him in hands of the remarkable Alan Shapiro, a MEDEK practitioner and highly regarded physical therapist in Jerusalem.

The support enabled by the Malki Foundation's generous donors make a real difference to families like Danny's. We're glad and grateful you are part of them. 

Focus on a family: In and out of hospital

How are the families we support - they and their child with serious special needs - coping in the challenging circumstances of the plague?

Hila, 8 years old, has a rare spinal defect as well as hearing and vision impairments. She can sit by herself and recently started taking a few steps with some support. 

She communicates with the help of an Assistive and Augmentive Communication (AAC) device. A speech therapist funded by the Malki Foundation, working with the encouragement of her parents, has taught Hila to use the device and to make her needs and reactions understood.

Hila is frail. Her health is such that she has had to spend long stretches of time in hospital. And that is where she is now. 

Says her mother in a conversation with us putting a positive face on a not-so-simple situation:

"At the beginning of the 'Corona holiday', Hila was in hospital and then released. But very quickly she had to be re-admitted. So at least, in between everything else, she is getting her therapies."

With all of us facing situaions that are often complex and always testing, and with virtually all of mankind aspiring to be at home, it can be hard to imagine how complicated a hospital stay for a child of eight can be under today's circumstances. 

We send our warmest wishes to Hila and her devoted parents for a quick return to health and to home.

(We are posting several posts this week (here's yesterday's) dealing with families who care at home for a child with extreme special needs at a time of special challenges for everyone. In keeping with our customary policy on privacy, Hila is not the lovely child's name. Nor is that her photo at the top of the post.)