Why we opened this campaign
Meet Henrietta Gochberg. She is 78 years old, lives in Jerusalem, and is facing advanced-stage cancer—completely vulnerable in the face of this disease. Henrietta has no medical insurance. Not because she was careless, but because the war caught her off guard.
In October 2023, she was in Moscow visiting her daughter. When the shelling began, fear took hold. She was afraid to return under rocket fire, and that forced delay turned out to be critical. Henrietta remained outside Israel long enough for Bituach Leumi to revoke her permanent resident status. In a single day, she lost access to medical care in the country she calls home.
Henrietta spent her entire career working in a patent office, where she learned that behind every detail is someone’s story, someone’s work, someone’s life. She always lived modestly, valuing the spiritual over the material—a strength she inherited from her father.
Her son, Michael, is named after his grandfather from Lodz, who survived the horrors of World War II—serving first in the Polish Army and later in the Red Army. That same inner strength was passed down to Henrietta, and from her to her children. Today, her son leads a Russian-speaking kollel in Jerusalem, dedicating his life to Torah study. Her daughter is a biologist who develops life-saving medications for thousands of people. The irony is heartbreaking: her daughter helps save lives, while her own mother has been left without access to treatment due to bureaucracy.
When Henrietta finally returned to Israel, doctors discovered a tumor—already at an advanced stage. Every week of delay reduces her chances. One round of chemotherapy costs 80,000 shekels. The family managed to pay for the first round by taking on heavy debt. Now, she urgently needs the next one. Treatment cannot be delayed—cancer does not wait.
Her son Michael, a rosh kollel and father of many children, continues to take on more debt, with no clear way to repay it. This is a temporary crisis: her legal status is currently being restored. It just takes time.
We are raising 80,000 shekels—the exact cost of one round of treatment. This support will help her get through the critical months until her insurance is reinstated. Our goal is simple: to make sure Henrietta is still here when the paperwork is finally approved.
Henrietta says: “Illness is a test from God. But to be left without help in old age because of paperwork—that is a pain I cannot describe. My daughter creates medicines for others, and I believe help will come to me too—through the kindness of people.”
She is a mother, a grandmother, and part of our community.
Right now, she has no system to rely on—but she has us. Please help us give her a chance to continue her life.
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