Since 1997, Hazon Yeshaya Soup Kitchens has been providing life-saving meals to thousands of Israel’s neediest adults and children, 365 days a year. Hazon Yeshaya was founded by Abraham Israel, a successful businessman from New York. Shortly after making aliya to Jerusalem, Abraham chanced upon a destitute woman living in a squalid apartment with an empty refrigerator and no idea where her next meal would come from. He was astounded by her situation and even more surprised to discover there are hundreds of thousands like her in Israel.

Immediately, he set up a small kitchen to serve 17 starving Jerusalem residents. Today, Hazon Yeshaya provides more than 400,000 hot meals each month at over 60 distribution points across Israel.

Abraham Israel, Founder and Director - Coming Full Circle

Abraham Israel, Hazon Yeshaya founder and director, was born in Egypt. As a child, after the Suez War of 1956, when the situation for Jews in Egypt worsened, he and his family had to flee the country to escape persecution. Forced to leave all their assets in Egypt, they set off to France where they stayed for almost three years.  During that period, Abraham and his family had to eat in soup kitchens in Paris. They finally fulfilled their dream and reached the “land of opportunity” upon their arrival in the United States. After receiving an education and continuing his post-high school studies at Baruch College, Abraham obtained a degree in business, entered the business world and became a successful shoe importer.  

After bringing his wife and seven children to Israel, one day, Abraham chanced upon a destitute woman in Israel, with empty shelves in her kitchen and no idea where her next meal would come from. He was astounded by her situation, and even more so when he learned that there are hundreds of thousands like her in Israel. This was the turning point in his life in which he decided it was time to return the same kindness he and his family received way back in France. Seeing the poverty abounding, he opened a small kitchen with his own funds to feed 17 starving Jerusalem residents. To his amazement, this small kitchen grew to what is today the biggest soup kitchen in Israel. The national chain consisting of 60 distribution points nationwide currently provides over 400,000 hot meals each month, of which 80% are for school-age children who, in essence, are the future of our beloved State of Israel.

Since Abraham himself knows what it is like to be poor and hungry, he works up to 18 hours per day, drawing no salary whatsoever, to ensure that the needs of the poverty-stricken are being met. It is not uncommon for him to shed tears when he hears the personal story of someone new needing the soup kitchen’s services  and he is saddened every time he has to increase the number of meals he serves. 

While Hazon Yeshaya now helps thousands of people every day, Abraham’s dream is to extend his programs into every city that needs a soup kitchen, ensuring that no one will be left hungry for even a single day.