ALGEMEINER
by Deborah Danan
July 29, 2014

It isn’t just Israel’s heroic reservist soldiers who deserve a pat on the back—and infinitely more—for putting their lives on the line on behalf of the rest of the country, it’s also their wives, who wait silently at home. These women are grappling with a challenging reality, and they’re alone. There are, however, several initiatives that have emerged in recent days to help these women.

Two social movements based in Jerusalem, Yerushalmim and the Jerusalem Movement, have teamed up in setting up a giant database of volunteers to assist the wives of reservists in everyday chores. Volunteers are helping the women by doing anything from babysitting, cooking, cleaning, moving apartments, dog-walking, shopping and even massages.

“These are very complicated days for managing a household, a-two-year-old who misses his father in reserve duty, and a baby of two months who doesn’t even know he’s in the world yet,” said Lior Yelin-Freund, mother of two. “Now I understand just how much I’ve gotten used to leaning on my husband, who is a full partner in everything and an active father. He is also my best friend, and I miss him. My days and nights are filled with ruptured sleep, because one child or the other always needs something, and I’m desperate for help just so I can continue to be a happy mother. After all, they’re not to blame in all of this.”…..

Angels of the Home Front: Wives of IDF Reservists Live as Single Mothers