For over seventy years now Judith (Giuditta) Matalon of Milan, Italy has been working tirelessly for the benefit of the State of Israel. In early June (4-6.6.2017) she visited Israel together with friends and family to inaugurate new projects established thanks to her donations and to review the progress of future plans.
“I feel that Israel is my country and my family, and that’s what gives me the strength to continue my activities on its behalf,” said Ms. Matalon. “Children are the future of the country, and it’s especially important to me to be involved in projects that benefit the young generation,” she explained.
Ms. Matalon, who is ninety-one years old, established the KKL-JNF offices in Milan in 1947, and she has been coming to work every day ever since. Over the years, the young secretary has been transformed into KKL-JNF Italy’s major donor. “Everything I have is devoted to KKL-JNF,” she says, and every year KKL-JNF Israel invites her to inaugurate new projects and visit existing ones.
Sites visited by the Italian delegation in the course of the week included the ALUT Kfar Sava home for young people with autism, Ofer Forest on Mount Carmel, a newly established green corner on the Tel Nof Air Force Base, club facilities for children with special needs in Kiryat Gat and a healing center in Sderot.
“These are just a few of the many dozens of projects all over Israel that have been established with Ms. Matalon’s help,” emphasized KKL-JNF emissary to Italy Shariel Gun.
The tour began in Kfar Sava, at the ALUT facility for young people with autism. A well-tended and landscaped garden with a lawn, seating areas and outdoor exercise equipment has been created in the yard adjacent to the building.
“This yard is an inseparable part of the facility, and it allows the youngsters to work off their surplus energy and defuse tensions,” said facility social worker Sigal Mirkin-Shemesh. ALUT’s Resources Development Director Rachel Rosenman spoke of the years-long relationship between ALUT and KKL-JNF, “which displays a great deal of sensitivity to the needs of people with autism.”
The Kfar Sava facility, which was established about eighteen months ago, is home to twenty-four young people with autism who require close supervision. “I hope you realize how vital your donation is to the lives of the people who live here,” Rachel Rosenman told her guests.
A plaque of appreciation - that Ms. Matalon has chosen to dedicate to the memory of her father Alberto Avraam Matalon, her mother Rachel Modai Matalon and her brother Beniamino (Beni) Matalon - was unveiled at a special ceremony.
Rachel Rosenman gave Giuditta Matalon a unique gift – a book of artwork by ALUT children – and Director of KKL-JNF’s Italian Desk Etti Lankri presented her with a certificate of appreciation. “Your projects extend throughout the entire country, in northern, southern and central Israel,” she said with admiration.
Former President of KKL Italy Ricardo Levi accompanied Ms. Matalon on her tour. “It’s always good to come back to Israel,” he said. “These varied projects scattered throughout the country help us to learn more about different aspects of Israel.”
The delegation then made its way to its next port of call, the KKL-JNF appreciation center in Ofer Forest. Thanks to Ms. Matalon’s support, Mount Carmel has been rehabilitated and new forest trees have been planted to replace those destroyed in the great fire of 2010. She donated three times to this important cause, and dedicated her donations to her parents, her brother, her uncle Alberto Modai and to her father’s cousin, Alberto Avraam Matalon, and his wife Victoire.
“I am moved anew every time I see the tangible importance of the donation and how it helps Israel,” said Ms. Matalon at the end of her visit. The beautiful green landscape of Mount Carmel’s forests is clear evidence of the life that can re-emerge following a disaster, and of hope for a future of growth and prosperity.
Read this article in Italian