Is Aleh unstoppable? Let's hope not.

Aleh Jerusalem via Google Maps

A dear friend of mine is on the Aleh donors' mailing list (a fluke - she has never given them a cent).

She shared with me a recent e-mailer urging the Aleh donor base to dig deep into their wallets to grant the children "an unforgettable summer, filled with fun, laughter, and joy!"

The PR piece boasts that "they will be unstoppable". It never clarifies who that "they" is: the children, or the "dedicated staff and volunteers". But, of course, obfuscation is the name of the Aleh PR game.

So this PR piece convinces donors that their cash keeps Aleh afloat and will send 120 children to camp. 

Aleh's 2017 annual report [online here] tells a different story. There we learn that Aleh derived about 82% of its income from government sources - mainly the Ministries of Health (via the health funds or kupot), of Welfare and of Education.

Source: "Aleh 2018 End of Year Report" (Feb 19, 2019)

Bottom line: It's mostly Israeli taxpayers who are funding Aleh, whether we choose to or not. On their own figures, income from donations amounted to slightly less than 11% of total income.

But its duplicity is not the main reason I sincerely hope that Aleh is ultimately "stoppable". 

Below are five photographs of a friend's daughter who attended Aleh Gedera's school as well as its institution's afternoon program. On several occasions when my friend collected her child, she found her to be in a less than desirable state.

 Only on one of those did Aleh staff phone to forewarn her of her child's injuries.

The first and last horror shots were from the school; the others are from the afternoon program (the מעון) at the institution. The mother gave me permission to post these images.

Any institution that either inflicts such shocking wounds - or allows them to be inflicted by another child - must not be left "unstoppable". 

Help stop the sub-standard care of Aleh so that the children locked up there can return to the families and the community where they deserve to live.