Last week several families in Herzliya were surprised to find a familiar couple with a child on their doorstep begging for food, while holding paper clippings. The couple said they had nothing to eat and that they were once written about. Some were reluctant to open the door, others turned away, but a few made a donation and even tried to call social services.
The Israeli public was introduced to the Habibi family three and a half years ago following their entrenchment in
the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. The couple, Avraham and Violet, a Jew and a Christian, protested their children being taken away from them by authorities and sparked riots of residents who mistook the event for a terror attack.
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| ‘Habibi did it for the children’ / Attila Somfalvi |
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Haim and Violet Habibi, who threw firecrackers inside the Church of the Annunciation Friday are known by welfare authorities for troubled past; family moved frequently from Israel to PA and back; couple was stripped of custody of their children, kidnapped them to Mukata in Ramallah. Tzedek Lakol (Justice for All) party member: He told us he was planning on doing something to focus everyone’s attention on his troubles |
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Several months ago the family again made headlines upon Violet's escape to Ramallah together with their eight-year-old son. She has since returned to Green Line territories, and together with Avraham the three walk the streets and beg for money.
Their child is not registered with any school, while social services have run out of ideas on how to handle the family, which has been under their care for years.
"We have nowhere to sleep in," Avraham said. "We were promised an apartment, but the Housing Ministry won't follow through. We walk the streets and ask people of money. This way, at the end of each day, we have a roof top from the money we collected.
"We are forced to wander and sleep in a different place everyday," Abaraham added and noted that the family mostly travels to cities in central Israel.
Knocking on doors (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
He blames the system for failing to provide his son with an educational framework. "Social services only knew how to ruin our family. My 17-year-old son ran away from a foster family and said he'd been abused for years. We weren't allowed to meet him either. Now I have a child who's scared and not entirely mentally sound."
Referring to their eight-year-old son, Avraham said that he would very much like him to attend school but that it was difficult seeing as they have no permanent residence, despite being promised an apartment. "We are also scared that social services would take him away and someone else would abuse him. We have turned to foundations and government ministries; no one wants to help us."
Avraham said that his wife retuned from Ramallah after a social worker promised her an allowance. Now, he said, they're thinking about their next step in order to alert the State.
Authorities painted a different picture of family's condition. The Ministry of Social Affairs stated that social services were familiar with the family and were interested in offering assistance but noted that the family "was completely uncooperative, wandered, and their whereabouts were unclear." Regarding the 17-year-old son it was stated that his father convinced him to leave foster care in order to work and support the family.
The Construction and Housing Ministry stated that the family was granted rent assistance amounting to NIS 774 (roughly $203) per month.
Referring to public housing options, ministry officials said that such apartments were aimed at large families with three kids and over, which didn't own an apartment since June 1971, and of a financial state which meets ministry criteria.
The Habibi family was deemed ineligible for public housing by a committee which rejected their appeal on the grounds that the family wasn't big enough.
However, it was stated that the family could still file an appeal through the Amidar public housing company.
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