As a child , Mary Louise Hammer endured hunger and imprisonment . Her adopted brood included a Russian immigrant who had lost an eye to cancer and a family whose father was killed by a suicide bomber on a bus . As an adult , ` ` Chicken Lady of Jerusalem '' provided Sabbath meals to thousands in Israel . Family members continue charity work Hammer single - handedly started 30 years ago .
As a child , Mary Louise Hammer endured hunger and imprisonment . As an adult , ` ` Chicken Lady of Jerusalem '' provided Sabbath meals to thousands in Israel . Family members continue charity work Hammer single - handedly started 30 years ago .