When the Oct 7 Hamas massacre occurred, Judi Shuster was heartbroken, distraught and inconsolable. She heard about a program sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg at the end of November 2023 where participants would knit comfort dolls for children in Israel, living through the trauma of the attacks and the war that followed.
“I was not a good knitter but I was interested. Anything to get me away from the news was a win, so I attended the program with my daughter-in-law," Shuster says.
“The program really changed my life, as knitting dolls was the best therapy I could ask for,” Shuster explains. “There were approximately 100 people who attended the Federation program, and over the next few weeks, 180 comfort dolls were made.”
A ball of bright pink, neon green, fluorescent orange or turquoise yarn costs only $3.50 a piece can make such a cheerful doll. Shuster finds that making the dolls is very therapeutic. She says, “You can’t think too much when you are knitting or at least I cannot! When knitting the dolls, I found that there really is not a mistake or problem that can’t be fixed, mended, adjusted and or even made better!”
The 180 dolls were to be delivered in early December 2023 to children in Israel but due to the war in Gaza, flights to Israel were cancelled. “As a result, my husband and I took the dolls made by our Jewish community to Israel in late January 2024when we went to visit our daughter and son-in-law who live in Israel.”
Since that time, Shuster has not been able to stop making the dolls. She has personally knitted 173 dolls to date.
“Giving away dolls makes me very happy! Seeing the smiles on the children’s faces and their warm embraces fills my heart with joy. I feel in my small way I am contributing!"
Shuster has been to Israel three times since the Oct 7 Hamas massacre. Every time they have gone, she and her husband, Joel have volunteered all over the country, and they hand out dolls wherever they go. For example she and Joel volunteered at Shuva Junction, which is only a kilometer from Gaza. It is a place for soldiers to stop and rest. There they can get food, and necessities, a place to sleep, shower, eat and decompress. It was set up by two brothers that saw that there was nothing for the soldiers. Nothing! Everyone that had survived had left the area. No restaurants, no gas stations, no stores. Nothing! “I will never forget driving down death road 232 to get there, passing all the shelters of death. I remember seeing videos of the atrocities that took place in the places we passed! Horrifying!” At Shuva Junction, the Shusters cooked, organized, served food and washed giant pots. “We talked to soldiers and thanked them for their bravery, dedication and for protecting us. I gave dolls to soldiers that had children at home. They were very touched,” she says.
Judi says “We spent a lot of time at Hostage Square, being amongst the people at the heart wrenching funeral of the 3 Bibas’; Shiri, Ariel and Kfir on February 26. We witnessed the jubilation on the release of the six hostages; Omer Shem Tov, Omer Weinkert, Tal Shoham, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu and Hisham Al-Sayed, on Feb 22. We generally tried to bring comfort to whomever we could in our own very small way."
"We delivered meals in Jerusalem to the wives and children, whose husbands were called up for reserve duty. We gave dolls to a school in Ra’anana for children with disabilities. We went to different hotels in Jerusalem where the evacuated Israelis were living and gave them dolls. We packed necessities for the evacuated Israelis at Eran’s Angels and gave dolls to them.”
After the Shusters’ trip in February, 2025 to Israel, Judi and Joel shared their experiences and the many opportunities to volunteer to those who attended the weekly rallies for the release of the hostages outside Superstore on Grant and Kenaston. The rallies began on a grassroots level, days after the Oct 7 massacre. They have been running weekly since then, rain or shine, summer or winter! We are standing with our Canadian and Israeli flags and the photos of the hostages!
The Shusters emphasized that we felt very safe in Israel. “I showed the rally attendees a few examples of my knitted dolls and they were very excited. A few women started making dolls between rallies and bringing them to me to send to Israel. A few asked for a class, and on April 17 2025 we had another successful doll making class at the Asper Campus.” There were 50 women, three men, and two children that attended. As Judi points out, “There was a very positive vibe in the room and people were very excited to help the people of Israel-making one child happy at a time."
As Judi indicates, “There are 950,000 children under the age of 4 in Israel so we have to get busy…I can’t do this on my own!
To the best of Judi’s knowledge the Winnipeg Jewish community is the only Jewish community in the world making comfort dolls. "I hope that other communities will follow."
The Shusters will likely return to Israel in the summer, “But in the meantime, dolls are being made and sent with others travelling to Israel.” There is a box at the front entrance of the Asper Campus that is collecting dolls to be sent to Israel . May 13 is the deadline for the next trip. The box will remain at the entrance of the Campus for the next person to go to Israel and take the dolls with them.
“Everywhere we went in Israel, the Israelis were so shocked and grateful that a far away place like Winnipeg, there were people rallying for them, praying for them, thinking of them and knitting dolls for them. This is the reason I continue to make dolls!”
