Heavy Blanket Brigade

Text & Photos: Lydia Aisenberg

The horrific, barbaric acts of Hamas-instigated terror carried out against Israelis on Shabbat, October 7, last year and subsequent ongoing hostilities in Gaza and on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, have brought about an alarming increase in the number of Israeli adults, teens and young children who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety-related conditions. These cause drastic emotional and physical turmoil in their own daily lives and in those of their families and friends, who are already under heavy pressure.

Thousands of Israelis suffering from trauma are finding relief from agonizing anxiety attacks and seemingly never-ending sleepless nights through the use of extra heavy blankets. The weight of the all-embracing so-called heavy blanket emanates a feeling of security, and much-needed comfort to the user. These blankets are proving to be a wrap-around relief for people suffering with debilitating anxieties, and smaller and lighter versions of the blankets have proven extremely helpful to children – particularly those on the autistic spectrum.

A partnership between the Seminar HaKibbutzim College of Arts and Design in Tel Aviv and the Tikkun Olam (Repair the World) organization culminated in the launching of a nationwide project to produce as many heavy blankets as possible by appealing to a nimble-fingered volunteer workforce who could either work from home on their own machines, or come together at allotted sewing centers in their towns, kibbutzim and other communities throughout the country.

Following an appeal by the Logistics Department of the Kibbutz Movement to municipal councils throughout Israel and the mostly rural kibbutz communities, seamstress Riva Wallach and her team, members of Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek in the Jezreel Valley and one of nine kibbutzim under the Megiddo Regional Council, joined up for the time-consuming, somewhat fiddly project to bring comfort and relief to PTSD sufferers and those in need of a heavy blanket embrace.

"The material and pellets are supplied by the Tikkun Olam organization and 65 grams go into each blanket pocket," explains Riva as she measures out the tiny white plastic pellets and then pours them into paper cups, each of which are emptied into one of the already prepared blanket covers piled high on an enormous preparation table beside her. Brown cardboard boxes containing hundreds of bags of pellets are standing one on top of the other at her side.

According to the English language advertising on the side of the cartons, they were originally intended for the export of avocados before being commandeered to transport plastic pellets to seamstresses throughout Israel instead of heading for European shores.

"The blankets are 1.5 by 1.9 meters and divided into pockets of 10 by 13 cm – which means each blanket has 130 pockets each needing to be filled with 65 grams of pellets, then sewn down - and at the end of the process, the blanket weighs in the region of 8 or 9 kilos," explains Riva as she pours another cup of pellets into a slit at the side of the prepared heavy cotton, line-patterned fabric.

In a nearby room, professional seamstress and kibbutz member Mariana Milstein is hunched over an equally large preparation table with reams of material laid out in front of her as she meticulously marks off the pocket squares using a board to-size pattern and marker pencil, before handing over the pre-marked material to fellow kibbutznik Hava Tzur, normally found in the nearby shop selling kibbutz-manufactured household dishes and containers, but now hard at work on one of the six available sewing machines.

"When the shop is quiet, and being just next door, then I pop in and do as much as I can here," says Hava. "This is such an important project and I'm happy to be able to contribute."

"Apparently, the heavy blankets give the sufferer a feeling of security, leading to the body releasing extra hormones, which hopefully helps to calm the person in need," explains Riva Wallach. "Although it really is rather physically demanding - most of the ladies from the kibbutz creating the heavy blankets here in this sewing center are retired, in their 70s and even 80s, and volunteering, all proud to be able to contribute to this incredible project."

Some months ago there was also a call from the kibbutz movement for volunteers to prepare material covers for coffins. "As there were so many funerals being held, there was a shortage of coffin covers, and we also answered that call," Riva says, before adding, with a grimace and heavy sigh, her eyes glistening as tears form: "For sure we will help with whatever we can and "halevai" we will not need coffin covers or heavy blankets for our own in-house use."

Amen.

March, 2024