In the months since the October 7th attacks on Israel, Jewish Palm Beach has provided remarkable support to our global family.

Thousands of people like you have contributed to our relief efforts in Israel, which we launched in the hours following the attacks and have grown over time. Through contributions to our relief efforts and our Annual Campaign, we have provided vital support for the people of Israel:

• Food and financial assistance for impacted families
• Housing, respite and support for frontline communities
• Support for victims of terror and their families
• Trauma relief and psychosocial care
• Emergency medical services and healthcare

Israel Emergency Relief Efforts

The bulk of funds we’ve distributed have gone to a host of partners on the ground, including The Jewish Agency for Israel and JDC. These partners are keeping us apprised of the greatest needs, so we can distribute funds to make the greatest impact. Here is a breakdown of how they’ve distributed the millions of dollars we have provided:

• Lifeline Services: Food, clothing, financial assistance, and medicines as well as spiritual care
• Economic Relief and Recovery: Supports families who are grappling with income loss, as reserve soldiers answer the call to duty, and economic relief efforts for frontline communities small and medium-size businesses
• Mental Health and Trauma Relief: Addresses the physical, psychological, and emotional wellbeing of affected Israelis. This includes allocations made to medical facilities and hospitals.
• Community Resilience and Rebuilding: Helps to enable people to return to their homes and rebuild their communities and will become a major focus of JFNA’s efforts in the coming months
• Other: This includes enhanced support for communities under fire and for new olim (immigrants) living in absorption centers through evacuations, temporary housing, children’s activities, and increased security.

Scroll down to see the full list of recipient organizations that the Federation system is supporting through this effort.

Additional Programs We’re Supporting

SparkIL, a Program of The Jewish Agency for Israel
SparkIL is a peer-to-peer lending platform established jointly by the Jewish Agency and the Ogen Group. It enables investors from around the world to participate in crowdfunding, interest-free, small-business loans which make a real, measurable, and continuing impact on underserved populations across Israel. As a part of the Jewish Agency’s response to the war, SparkIL has expanded its capacity to provide grants to businesses in Israel’s who have been impacted by the current war. Businesses can apply for interest-free loans of up to NIS 100,000, for a period of up to five years, without the need for a deposit and without guarantors. Small businesses or non-profits with a turnover of up to two million shekels per year will be able to receive the loan. Loan approvals and the transfer of funds will be carried out quickly to deliver the aid immediately. Loans will be facilitated through the SparkIL digital platform, jointly owned by The Jewish Agency and Ogen which will enable the enaction of the loans swiftly, capitalizing on their underwriting expertise. Each dollar is matched 1:1 by Ogen.

Support for Israelis in the Palm Beaches
Earmarked fund to support Israelis in Palm Beach who left Israel as a result of the war. This includes medical and mental health needs, housing, food, childcare and employment support.

The Schechter Institutes, Inc. 
Schecter works with a cohort of fifteen Russian and Ukrainian speaking artists who arrived in Israel as new immigrants as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian war. The program was created to help this population, who has been hit by the war in Ukraine, have a better integration to Israeli life, by offering a yearlong study program of Jewish and Israeli texts on the subjects of Aliya, language, and art. This includes organizing meetings with art curators and cultural professionals to help them start their lives again in Israel. This group has been especially hit by the current war in Israel, as new immigrants with little or no family in the country, and as young artists, many without a steady income. Schechter plans on supporting the members of this group by offering a series of group sessions that can help them overcome the fear of being alone in Israel during wartime, and a modest stipend that will help them to sustain themselves during this time.

ELI (Israel Association for Child Protection) 
ELI is the premier organization in Israel providing therapeutic and crisis intervention to abused children and their families, as well as adults. Since October 9th, ELI has been using its expertise in trauma and family violence to directly help the survivors of the Oct. 7th attacks with their mental health needs and trauma.

Enhanced Support of our Family in TZAHAR, Our Partnership Region

Since the October 7th attack, we have been in constant touch with our friends in the Palm Beaches’ partnership region of TZAHAR, comprised of the cities Tzfat, Hatzor HaGlilit and Rosh Pina. They have made us aware of needs that have emerged in the region, and we have provided specialized support for several key areas:

• Medical equipment for the ICU at Ziv Medical Hospital, located in Tzfat
• Emotional support and mental health services at Mashabim Trauma Center located near the TZAHAR region
• Support for people with disabilities and their families at Simcha La’Yeled located near TZAHAR
• Volunteer projects helping soldiers and victims of the war at SAHI
• Bomb shelter improvements and equipment
• Emergency equipment for first responders
• Childcare and education support for families, as many students have missed school due to the conflct
• Relief projects for evacuated families and Shabbat meals for soldiers, provided at the Tzfat Kabbalah Center

Descriptions of Organizations & Impact 

Relief work Federation and our partners at Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) are supporting a

Access Israel 

Access Israel is a well-respected Israeli NGO dedicated to promoting accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities and the elderly in Israel and around the world. They are offering ongoing specialized housing solutions for disabled evacuees/self-evacuees from both southern and northern Israel. Requests from the south are diminishing, but requests from the north are increasing. In addition, Access Israel will train volunteers and local authority professionals on how to deal with people with disabilities in emergencies.

Ad’ar – The Professional Forum to Fight the Murder of Women  

Ad’ar’s mission is to contribute to the elimination of femicide within Arab society in Israel. It works with the victims of gender-based violence and relevant professionals to develop effective risk-assessment tools to prevent femicides in their communities. During the war, Ad’ar has activated a phone hotline, facilitated groups of social workers in the Negev, Galilee, and Haifa, and is producing and distributing a booklet in Arabic and Hebrew for therapists to use during wartime with a focus on gender-based violence prevention.  

AJEEC-NISPED               

AJEEC-NISPED is an Arab/Jewish NGO dedicated to social change in the Negev. The organization consists of a team of Arabs and Jews working together to create a shared society. Jewish Federations will support the activities of the organization’s emergency situation rooms and its emergency program to prevent the spread of fake news within the Bedouin community. AJEEC-NISPED will also be cooperating with the Regional Council for Unrecognized Arab Villages in the Negev to provide food assistance and emergency social work care.

AKIM Israel

AKIM Israel acts to realize the rights, promote a better quality of life, and improve the welfare of around 35,000 people with intellectual disabilities and approximately 140,000 family members and legal guardians. The organization operates nationwide and is managed by parents and volunteers in the Jewish and Arab sectors. Since October 7, the organization has been working to assist residents of protected housing who require help with evacuation from Ashkelon, Netivot, and Sderot. It has provided essential equipment to families with special needs, established a digital training program, supported individuals with special needs to preserve their employment routine, and provided enrichment and therapy programs.

Al-Baqour – Association for Early Childhood Development in the Arab Society of the Negev 

Al-Baqour was founded by experts in the early childhood field from the Arab and Jewish society in the Negev to promote action and public discourse on the importance of early childhood intervention. Negev Bedouin were significantly affected by the heavy rocket fire and suffered casualties in the October 7th attack. Al-Baqour is training mothers using Zoom on how to deal with an emergency, how to talk to the children about the situation around them, and how to run educational activities for children who cannot attend their normal school frameworks. It is also running Zoom activities as well as special online activities for children on the autism spectrum, among other activities.

ALEH

ALEH strives to empower individuals with disabilities to overcome barriers and achieve success by providing them with the tools and professional support they need to thrive. ALEH is equipping protected spaces with essential life-supporting equipment so that the children can continue to receive rehabilitative care and life-saving treatments during the war. This includes resources such as nutritional supplies, oxygen generators, etc.

ALYN Pediatric and Adolescent Rehabilitation Center

ALYN Pediatric and Adolescent Rehabilitation Center provides treatment for children facing physical challenges, both congenital and acquired, enabling them to function to the best of their ability and integrate into their family life within the framework of a supportive community. Jewish Federations will help ALYN to relocate their day program for severely disabled children to a protected space, to expand their remote therapy options, and to provide the facility with emergency equipment.

Aminadav

Aminadav has been active for over 30 years, and it operates alternate volunteering frameworks for young men and women who are exempt from military service in the Israel Defense Forces. Since the second day of the war Aminadav assigned its volunteers to 28 hotels to provide immediate assistance to children evacuees, providing educational services on an individual and group basis during school hours, and social and recreational activities in the afternoons. With the help of Jewish Federations, they will continue their volunteer work with evacuees and others affected by the war. 

AMEN – The Land Where Women Heal

AMEN, which stands for Admat Marpeh Nashit “feminine healing ground,” is a center for healing, celebration, and leadership and part of the Ohela Association. Early after the events of October 7, AMEN set up women’s clinics in the Dead Sea and Eilat evacuation areas and have been treating 60 patients on average per day in each space. The holistic approach of AMEN complements the conventional approaches provided by government agencies. Jewish Federations funding will help AMEN continue to operate their treatment centers for evacuees for an additional month.

Appleseeds 

Appleseeds was established to meet the challenge of digital gaps in Israeli society and make technology a catalyst for social change, improved employment, and integration between Jews and Arabs, peripheral and central areas, and other divisions. In response to the emergency, Appleseeds is utilizing their established approach to provide digital services for victims of terrorism, programming for their youth movement Net@, and for people throughout Israel who struggle with a low level of digital literacy.   

Association for Ethiopian Jews (AEJ)

AEJ, established in 1993, is a veteran Ethiopian Israeli-led organization, advocating on social and policy issues, racial equality, civil and human rights, improved perceptions, and better policies to ensure optimal inclusion and quality of life for Ethiopian Israelis. AEJ is a watchdog NGO that collaborates with diverse stakeholders to keep the government accountable and promote policies that result in advancement and inclusion of Ethiopian Israelis. With the support of Federations, AEJ will be expanding their role as a coordinating NGO in the field, ensuring that needs are being met and that affected Ethiopian Israelis are able to access their full government-granted rights.

Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel

The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) is an umbrella organization for nine regional Rape Crisis Centers (RCCs) whose main aim is to combat sexual violence. The RCCs work at the individual and regional levels providing services and support for individual victims of sexual violence and working to raise awareness in their local communities. ARCCI will train professionals with war-trauma-informed therapy and tools, provide direct assistance to survivors, support groups for survivors and witnesses, and ensure evacuee hotels are as safe as possible.

Association for the Wellbeing of Israeli Soldiers ​          

The Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers is a leading organization conducting activities for soldiers. The Association’s Emergency Relief Fund will support IDF soldiers in the hours, days, and weeks ahead. This fund enables the purchase of essentials for front-line soldiers, including vital personal gear and clothing (non-tactical) and basic physical hygiene supplies.

ATIDIM

ATIDIM, which means Futures, is a national program developing human resources and closing the socioeconomic gaps crippling Israel’s periphery, by creating equal educational opportunities. It is a comprehensive, compelling program that identifies talented young people from Israel’s underprivileged areas and gives them the chance to get on track to higher education. ATIDIM’s Educational Resilience Program for Traumatized Teens will be a one-stop-shop for preparation for the future, comprising both digital and physical programs to provide informal education, enrichment, and wellbeing activities. The pilot will begin with 500 teens evacuated from northern communities living in hotels in Tiberias.

Ayalim

Ayalim is a Zionist movement, founded in 2002 in light of David Ben-Gurion’s vision, wishing to change the balance between the country’s center and its periphery. Since the start of the war, and with the support of the Jewish Federations, the student villages in Ashalim, Dimona, and Yerucham have opened their homes and their hearts to the residents of the Gaza envelope. The students’ volunteers are hosting them in the village’s apartments, as well as takin care of their every need, including purchasing equipment, clothing, food, etc.

Beit Issie Shapiro            

Beit Issie Shapiro is a pioneering Israeli leader and innovator in the field of disabilities, developing and providing life-changing services, and exporting best practices for a more inclusive society around the globe. Beit Issie Shapiro is providing therapy, respite, emotional support, and coping tools to people with disabilities in their facilities and across Israel.

Birthright Israel               

Birthright Israel’s mission is to provide all young Jewish adults with opportunities for transformative and immersive shared experiences in Israel and a foundation for ongoing Jewish connection. Birthright Israel is using its extensive logistical infrastructure and contracts with hotels to host evacuees from the conflict zones.

Bnei Akiva Yeshivot and Ulpanot Center

The Bnei Akiva Yeshivot and Ulpanot Center is a religious Zionist educational organization that has been operating in Israel since 1954 and includes more than 60 institutions throughout the country with around 20,000 students. The organization has been hosting evacuees in their facilities and providing their basic needs. Jewish Federations support will contribute to the cost of hosting self-evacuees from locations that have not received government support.

Brothers and Sisters for Israel            

Brothers and Sisters of Israel is the largest civilian aid organization operating in Israel, entirely powered by volunteers who are former IDF soldiers, ensuring that 100% of funds go directly toward acquiring essential resources and supplies. Their leading efforts include combat gear for soldiers, humanitarian support, meals, clothing, and evacuation for those in war zones, accommodation for the displaced, and nationwide logistics centers.

Campus Resilience Initiative

Edmond de Rothschild Foundation (IL), together with the National Student Union, is leading a process of establishing resilience centers in several academic institutions, while adapting and integrating the “resilience center” model to the academic space. The goal is to assist the institutions to build their resilience and provide a solution to both immediate wartime challenges and to future challenges, while integrating all available institutional resources and responses, and creating a structured work plan for operating in emergency and during the return to normalcy.

Center for International Migration and Integration (CIMI)

The Center for International Migration and Integration (CIMI) was established in 1998 by JDC Israel. CIMI strives to apply international standards in addressing a wide range of areas of migration relevant to the Israeli state and society. CIMI is engaged in the development of systemic and individual responses while protecting the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers and maintaining international obligations. CIMI is providing emergency aid and resilience-building activities for migrant workers and asylum seekers from African and Ukrainian origins.

Center for Media and Democracy

The Center for Media and Democracy in Israel is an independent, nonprofit news organization established to strengthen Israeli democracy through investigative journalism. The Center has established an Emergency Resilience Fund to cover trauma treatments for journalists who covered the horrific October 7th events (and whose care is not covered by their employer).

Chesed Chaim V’Emet

Chesed Chaim V’Emet helps bereaved families cope with loss and bereavement. It was established by an IDF officer who decided to copy the IDF’s program of assistance for bereaved families to the civilian sector. Since the start of the war, the organization has accompanied over 650 families by conducting home visits, providing equipment for holding the “shiva” mourning period and providing counseling.

Chimes Israel

Chimes Israel’s missions is to do the maximum to improve the quality of life of people with special needs from every community, through providing cutting edge professional services delivered by a well-trained and supervised, caring staff. With Federations’ support Chimes Israel will conduct home visits by professionals to provide for material, emotional, therapeutic, and developmental support to people with special needs, primarily in southern Israel.

Cochav HaTzafon

The Cochav Hatzafon Association develops and operates a continuum of comprehensive quality services (treatment and rehabilitation, housing, employment, social and leisure) for around 1,000 disabled people of all ages and backgrounds who live in the northern periphery of Israel – everywhere from Akko to the northern Golan Heights. The organization is facing an acute lack of staffing due to the war since many of their professionals were evacuated from the region. They are filling the service gaps with freelancers and supplementing programming to address the tension and fears created by the war in northern Israel and are preparing to operate in this format for at least three more months. This request will impact around 200 beneficiaries. 

Community Stress Prevention Centre (CSPC) – Mashabim

The Community Stress Prevention Centre (CSPC) – Mashabim deals with the treatment and prevention of psycho-trauma. It promotes stress and crisis management and provides both multidisciplinary treatment and support to victims of psycho-trauma due to terror and war, primarily in northern Israel. CSPC is providing emergency support to those who have remained in their homes and within evacuee centers.

Connections 20-80

‘Hiburim 20-80’ focuses on combating loneliness among older adults and Holocaust survivors. The organization has successfully established an intergenerational community, connecting seniors with empathetic young volunteers through a designated call center and a unique digital application. 20-80 is using its 300 volunteers and call-center to support elderly residents of southern Israel, including those who did not evacuate and those who have returned to their homes.

Counseling Center for Women 

The Counseling Center for Women is dedicated to promoting individual, social, and economic gender equality through its psychotherapy center providing more than 10,000 therapy hours for women each year, especially women-at-risk, survivors of abuse and violence, and those struggling with depression, anxiety, or other illnesses. The Center is providing private and group psychotherapy from a gender-sensitive perspective for women suffering from trauma and post-trauma because of the war.   

Dror Israel         

Dror Israel is an organization of graduates of the youth movements Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed in Israel and Habonim Dror around the world. Dror Israel is made up of 1,300 trained educators who live together in 15 intentional communities across Israel’s social and economic periphery. They are dedicated to educating for a just and equal society by working with youth-at-risk, Jewish-Arab programs, national social justice initiatives, and their connected youth movements. In response to the war, Dror Israel educators and volunteers are supporting evacuees and providing day care educational activities for youth across Israel.

Early Starters International

Early Starters International is an educational humanitarian organization that provides a healthy childhood to young children in emergency situations and vulnerable communities worldwide. In coordination with the Ministry of Education, they have established ten spaces for children, from birth to age 7, and their parents whose families have fled the kibbutzim and villages on the Gaza border. With Jewish Federations support, they will expand the number of spaces that offer workshops for parents and social-emotional support for children. 

Economic Empowerment for Women (EEW)

Economic Empowerment for Women (EEW) works to promote the economic and social possibilities of women in Israel, with an emphasis on those of a low socioeconomic status, through the development of business entrepreneurship. This assistance to women equips and motivates them to open their own small businesses based on their skills and abilities. EEW will be providing business consulting to women with small businesses who have been evacuated from their homes and EEW graduates from across the country whose businesses have been affected.

Eden Association

Eden Association is based in Kibbutz Karmia (three kilometers from Gaza) and in Kibbutz Dorot, near Sderot. Eden specializes in the field of trauma therapy and complex post-traumatic therapy and in creating trauma-focused frameworks, as well as guiding girls and women in personal empowerment and transformation processes according to a unique model. Jewish Federations will support additional therapies and treatments for the beneficiaries whose trauma has increased because of their proximity to the October 7 events and subsequent evacuation from their facility.

Elad Theater 

The Elad Theater of Eilat and the Arava was founded in 2014 by a group of artists from the Habima and Cameri Theaters in Tel Aviv who moved from central Israel to Eilat and the Arava. Since October 7, the Theatre has turned all its activities into emergency projects to serve the tens of thousands of evacuees in the southern Negev. The Theater is forming community theater groups among evacuees to prepare a festival for the evacuee population and has been holding performances for children in the evacuee hotels.

ELEM – Youth in Distress in Israel 

ELEM – Youth in Distress in Israel is a leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to treating and transforming the lives of troubled youth. ELEM locates these teens and young adults and reintegrates them into normative society. With Jewish Federations’ support, ELEM will open a pop-up “Breathing Space” at the Dead Sea hotels for evacuee teens. In addition, a second ELEM team will conduct street outreach, will seek out and identify teens who are not yet ready to frequent the popup site and build trust with them. ELEM is also working at four other evacuee sites. 

Emergency Volunteer Project (EVP)  

The Emergency Volunteer Project (EVP) recruits and trains American firefighters, medical professionals, and other personnel to be deployed in Israel during emergencies. Jewish Federations’ support is enabling EVP to answer the call of the Israel Fire and Rescue Service to deploy 140 firefighters who will work in a volunteer capacity to supplement the Israeli capabilities, as EVP has done in the past.

Eshel Chabad  

Eshel Chabad is a large Israeli food security and humanitarian assistance NGO that works in partnership with the Ministry of Welfare, providing monthly packages to tens of thousands of Israelis. Eshel Chabad will be providing cash cards to evacuees to provide for their immediate needs and meals for elderly living under fire. Jewish Federations’ contribution is being matched by Israeli donors and the Ministry of Welfare.

Etgarim

Etgarim was founded by disabled IDF veterans and rehabilitation professionals with the mission to empower and socially integrate people with disabilities through outdoor challenge sports. Etgarim is supporting evacuated children both with/without disabilities and their families through guided outdoor sport activities. The goal is to help individuals and groups better cope with reality through experiential learning, cooperation, processing, and integration.

Ethiopian National Project       

The Ethiopian National Project (ENP) was established to ensure the full and successful integration of the Ethiopian Jewish community into Israeli society. During times of emergency, ENP has a proven record of being the most effective provider of services to the Ethiopian-Israeli community. With the support of Jewish Federations, ENP will deploy Amharic-speaking professionals to coordinate and offer services to families in their network in three southern cities: Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Beer Sheva.   

Ezer Mizion

Ezer Mizion provides vitally needed assistance to individuals and their families facing health challenges such as cancer and to the elderly, handicapped and children with special needs to empower and assist such individuals in maintaining independence, restoring function, preserving dignity, and improving quality of life. Ezer Mizion is hosting evacuee families with cancer, running a trauma support hotline and services, evacuating elderly and wheelchair bound residents to safe ground and providing medical equipment for loan, and delivery of medicines, food, and supplies.

Garin Tzabar

Garin Tzabar is a program of the Tzofim, Israel Scouts, which provides comprehensive services to young Jews who make Aliyah to serve in the Israel Defense Forces as lone soldiers. Upon their arrival in Israel, Garin Tzabar participants are adopted by an Israeli kibbutz that becomes their home-away-from-home before and throughout their military service. Four Garin Tzabar groups were evacuated from their kibbutzim because of the war and have been temporarily housed in the JAFI absorption center in Raanana and Beit Brodetsky facility in Tel Aviv. Garin Tzabar must pay rent to the kibbutzim they have evacuated and pay for rent and furnishings at the new accommodations. They are also supporting their 1,000 active-duty lone soldiers nationally at war by expanding their emotional support systems, including for parents abroad.   

Givat Haviva – The Center for a Shared Society          

Givat Haviva is a civil society organization for social change, striving to create a model society in Israel anchored in principles of mutual respect, trust, pluralism, and intrinsic equality between citizens. Givat Haviva is located on a 40-acre educational campus with guest rooms, classrooms, an auditorium, and dining room. The campus is now home to 260 evacuees from the conflict zones in Israel. Givat Haviva is providing these families with accommodations, three meals a day, mental health support, and a variety of healing activities.

Gumat Chen Boarding School

Gumat Chen Boarding School, based in Kibbutz Sa’ad (three kilometers from Gaza) serves as a safe haven for girls from religious families who have experienced severe trauma. Jewish Federations will support ongoing therapy for the beneficiaries whose trauma has increased because of their proximity to the October 7 events and subsequent evacuation from their facility.

HaGal Sheli

HaGal Sheli utilizes surfing as an empowering educational tool to teach at-risk youth how to overcome life’s challenges through determination and persistence. HaGal Sheli’s programs are helping youth and young adults dealing with complex war-related trauma through water activity (surfing). The Hagal Sheli program includes sessions led by educators, professional psychologists, and social workers.

HaOgen – An Anchor for Families of Reserve Soldiers

HaOgen, founded by three leading female social activists, has established a comprehensive volunteer-based support system for families of reserve soldiers. With more than 300,000 reserve troops currently deployed, there are many families relying on a single caregiver, usually a mother. HaOgen is operating with thousands of women volunteers, including national, regional, and local coordinators, and have already helped nearly 15,000 family members of reserve soldiers in 240 localities. Jewish Federations support will expand their reach to many more families.

HaReshet – The Net

HaReshet – The Net is an umbrella organization of civil society organizations and academic legal clinics that have come together to address inquiries those affected by the war on social and economic issues and to provide individual support, from providing information to bureaucratic assistance for families who experience difficulties exercising their rights. The Net will manage information flow on a digital platform to coordinate needs as they arise and enable collaboration as a force multiplier.

HaShomer HaChadash

HaShomer HaHadash is a Zionist social-educational organization established with the goal of assisting farmers and ranchers as well as strengthening the Jewish people’s connections to the Land of Israel, Jewish values, and Zionist identity. It implements a wide variety of volunteer and educational activities in Israel’s agricultural and open spaces, serving the diversity of Israeli society. In response to the agricultural crisis currently unfolding because of the war, HaShomer HaChadash is recruiting and deploying thousands of volunteers to assist hundreds of farmers in saving their crops and getting the produce into the market.

Hashomer Hatzair and Tzedek Centers            

The Hashomer Hatzair youth movement and Tzedek Centers, a national grassroots movement that promotes democracy, equality, and justice in a shared Israeli society are responding together to the emergency. They are providing educational aid and family-hosting opportunities for evacuees.

HeHalutz

HeHalutz is the bogrim (graduate) movement of the Habonim Dror youth movement. HeHalutz works to create social change and to promote tolerance and pluralism. It also runs programs to help olim (immigrants) integrate into Israeli society. Currently, Hehalutz is working with the National Emergency Center for Information and Support to Arab Society and the Ministry for Social Equality to train and equip volunteer community search and rescue teams in Arab localities in northern Israel.

Hias Israel

HIAS Israel assists olim, works with civil society organizations and governmental bodies to improve the refugee asylum system and represents asylum seekers through legal proceedings. HIAS’ emergency approach provides support for basic needs for vulnerable displaced families in Israel who by virtue of their status in Israel are not eligible for support from the state. 

Hospitals and Mental Health Centers

The Israeli hospital system has treated the thousands of patients who were injured during the horrific events of October 7, and in the fighting since in the south and north. In parallel, all hospitals in Israel have been preparing for a potential expansion of the rocket fire to impact much larger areas of the country.

Jewish Federations have supported twenty-seven general hospitals and four rehabilitation hospitals to purchase urgently needed medical equipment to rapidly strengthen their emergency response capabilities. Each hospital was given an allocation based on a few factors: The number of wounded it treated, location within the country (priority to north and south), size of the hospital, and emergency needs. In addition, ten psychiatric hospitals have been supported to provide mental health services to those most affected by the war.

Hospitals:

ADI Negev Rehabilitation Hospital

Assuta Ashdod Hospital

Barzilai Medical Center

Bnai Zion Hospital

Emek Medical Center Afula

Galilee Medical Center

Hadassah Medical Organization

Herzog Hospital

Hillel Yaffe Medical Center

Ichilov Hospital Sourasky Medical Center

Italian Hospital Haifa

Kaplan Hospital Rehovot

Laniado Hospital

Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital

Meir Medical Center

Nazareth Hospital

Poriya Tzafon Medical Center

Rabin Medical Center

Rambam Health Care Campus

Reuth Rehabilitation Hospital

Schneider Children’s Medical Center

Shaare Zedek Medical Center

Shamir Medical Center (Asaf Harofeh)

Sheba Medical Center Tel Hashomer

Soroka Medical Center

St. Vincent’s Hospital

Wolfson Medical Center

Yoseftal Hospital

Ziv Medical Center

Mental Health Centers:

Mazor Mental Health Center

Geha Mental Health Center

Beer Sheva Mental Health Center

Lev Hasharon Mental Health Center

Abarbanel Mental Health Center

Shaar Menashe Health Center

Shalvata Mental Health Center

The Jerusalem Center for Mental Health

Maale Carmel Mental Health Center

Merchavim Mental Health Center

Hotam – Teach First Israel  

Hotam (TFI) is a social and educational organization that trains people with leadership qualities to be teachers, principals, and educational leaders. They specialize in mentoring their trainees and other educators and providing them with the knowledge and tools necessary to afford all children equal opportunity for a better future, regardless of their background. At the request of the Ministry of Education, Hotam has established and is managing multiple temporary schools for evacuees around the country. 

Hostages and Missing Families Forum                

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum was formed by the families of hostages following the horrific terrorist attack on Israeli citizens. The Forum is a nonprofit organization, founded solely for the purpose of bringing back the people abducted and being held hostage in Gaza. The Forum’s strategy is to affect sustainable global public opinion in order to pressure countries who host and support Hamas for the immediate release of the hostages. Jewish Federations provide direct support to these families.

Israeli Alzheimer’s Medical Center

The Israel Alzheimer’s Medical Center in Ramat Gan is a residential medical facility for 200 people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia and a leading treatment provider in Israel. It also hosts a multipurpose day center for dementia patients who live at home or with their families. Since the war, the center has taken in around 30 new residents who were evacuated from the south and north. Although the center was at capacity, they happened to be completing construction on a new wing of the building which was able to accommodate the evacuees. Most of these evacuees will live at the center for the foreseeable future and potentially for the rest of their lives. The proposed budget will help the center cover part of the additional expenses resulting from the influx of new residents, including staffing, equipment, and basic needs.

Israel Association for Child Protection (ELI)   

ELI’s mission is to protect Israel’s children and break the intergenerational cycle of abuse through a broad spectrum of services, including crisis intervention, emergency hot line, therapy, prevention programs in schools, professional education, and community awareness. Eli is leveraging its experience to provide long term trauma treatment for children who witnessed and experienced the worst of the atrocities.

Israel Association for Community Centers 

The IACC, with a national network of more than 1,000 community centers, is a trusted partner of Jewish Federations and through its community centers, which work in close cooperation with the local authorities, offers a wide range of solutions to the needs of the population which includes programming and spaces for teens/youth, family centers, resilience workshops for staff and volunteers, and a pilot program to build resilience for individuals and teams from within the communities most affected by October 7th and joint parent-child programming to help restore routine and appropriate family relationships.

Israel Center on Addiction & Mental Health

The Israel Center on Addiction & Mental Health is a national center spearheading systemic policies for reducing addiction and its damages. It promotes the field of addiction prevention on the national agenda. The center provides therapy sessions, training in schools, training for educational teams in the south, training and guidance of mental health professionals and medical teams and clinical intervention for families. The goal is to provide teachers with tools to support children affected by the current war, as well as classroom interventions to avoid/lower the chances of substance abuse among students because of the war.

Israel Elwyn

Israel Elwyn works in collaboration with and supported by the Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and local municipalities nationwide to serve over 5,400 individuals with disabilities, including toddlers, children, youth, young adults, adults, and seniors. With assistance from Jewish Federations, Israel Elwyn will provide a wide range of services for people with disabilities who have been affected by the war – from emotional support to tailored activities to critical equipment.

Israel Emergency Loan Fund

The Jewish Federations Israel Emergency Loan Fund will address Israel’s largescale impending economic crisis stemming from the critical liquidity issues faced by tens of thousands of businesses amid the war. Through allocations to fully vetted existing loan platforms, the Loan Fund will deliver capital quickly and at scale across regions, sectors, and industries.  Philanthropic capital will absorb losses and support discounted borrowing rates, allowing the loan platforms to access leverage from banks and insurance companies to provide small and medium business loans at a total value of 3-5 times the value of capital allocated by the Loan Fund.

IGY (Israel Gay Youth)

IGY has been operating since 2002 as a movement for LGBTQ+ young people (12-23 years old). The organization has 4,000 youth participants and 400 volunteers. IGY works to empower LGBTQ+ young people by creating meaningful social spaces and encouraging them to take part in shaping the community and Israeli society. Jewish Federations support will help IGY strengthen their groups in affected cities in southern Israel and assist their most vulnerable members.

Israel’s National Council for the Child (NCC)

The Israel National Council for the Child (NCC) mission is to ensure the welfare, well-being, and rights of all children in Israel. NCC is a protagonist in all children and youth related issues, on a national level; initiating and promoting public policy, forging cross-sector partnerships focused on the and operating as a main source of information for professionals, government, and the non-profit sector. NCC’s entire operations have been diverted to responding to current needs. It will be advocating for children and providing training at the macro level; and providing support for children and teens is distress at the micro level.

Israel Trauma Coalition (ITC) 

The Israel Trauma Coalition (ITC), a key Federation emergency partner, is the cornerstone in the national treatment of trauma and emergency preparedness in Israel. ITC operates 12 resilience centers, mostly in the Gaza border area, which offer a unique model that provides a seamless response along the continuum between emergency preparedness, emergency, and recovery. ITC also works through its member organizations to provide additional mental health and psychosocial services, such as the emotional support hotlines that have been opened by Eran and Natal. Jewish Federations will support the provision of care for evacuees, first responders, and medical professionals, along with a national hotline. 

Israeli Volunteering Council     

The Israeli Volunteering Council promotes volunteering in cooperation with government ministries, local authorities, NGOs, and the business sector in Israel and around the world. In emergencies, it manages the work of over 40 national NGOs with over 200,000 volunteers together with the IDF Homefront Command. The war is likely to continue for a long period and Israeli society will need long-term support from its volunteer organizations. The Israeli Volunteering Council is launching a project to retain and safeguard volunteers with a framework of professional support and assistance. The IVC will provide professional accompaniment and an emotional support framework for the leaders and volunteers of 50 organizations (with many thousands of volunteers) working with victims of the war.

Jaffa Institute 

The Jaffa Institute operates in some of the most disadvantaged areas in Israel in the socioeconomic periphery in Tel Aviv-Jaffa and in Bet Shemesh. It provides educational, nutritional, therapeutic, and social support services to help people escape the cycle of intergenerational poverty. During the war, the Jaffa Institute opened its residential high school in Bet Shemesh to house, feed, and care for evacuees. It is also providing a therapeutic program for evacuees who are staying in Tel Aviv hotels.  

JDC       

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, JDC, is one of Jewish Federations’ historic partners, with deep roots and an unshakable connection to the State of Israel. JDC is caring for those who have no one else to turn to – vulnerable seniors, people with disabilities, children and young adults at risk, families in financial distress, and the unemployed. Jewish Federation emergency support will enable JDC to respond to the unique needs of these special populations as well as the southern communities,  the residents and leadership, to advance efforts of restoring personal security, ensuring access to government benefits, embracing vulnerable populations, strengthening local leadership and resources, and providing multi-faceted care for youth.  JDC is also providing training and counseling to frontline professionals to ensure they have  the support they need to continue their important work.  

Jerusalem Open House – National LGBTQ+ Emergency Response  

All Israeli LGBTQ+ non-profit organizations have joined together and entrusted the Jerusalem Open House to lead the establishment of a mental health emergency support system. More than 50 psychologists and social workers have been enlisted to provide a nationwide response to trauma, loss, and other challenges that LGBTQ+ Israelis are facing during the crisis. This need arose quickly, as many LGBTQ+ individuals hesitate to access services through state institutions, especially during periods of turmoil, and will be better served in specialized frameworks.

Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT)

The Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT) is an academic institution that specializes in high-tech engineering, industrial management, business administration and life and health sciences. It is dedicated to strengthening Jerusalem and responding to Israel’s socio-economic needs. JCT empowers diverse segments of Israeli society — who would otherwise not have access to higher education — to become contributing members of Israel’s workforce. JCT is now hosting high schools and other educational institutions from areas under fire, allowing them to maintain routine for the students on its campus, where they can use its dormitories and classrooms.

Jerusalem Hills Therapeutic Center

Jerusalem Hills Therapeutic Center is a unique institution which provides post-hospitalization therapeutic treatment for children aged 7 to 15. These include some of Israel most “at-risk” youth from all sectors of Israeli society. The Center also operates a training center for professionals and a community clinic. Jewish Federations will help provide therapeutic sessions for children with first-hand and second-hand trauma from the war, special training for professionals, transportation for displaced children from affected areas, and equipment for shelters at the facility.

Jewish Agency for Israel            

The Jewish Agency for Israel’s Fund for Victims of Terror is providing immediate, critical financial aid to victims and their families. In addition, the Jewish Agency is providing housing, food, activities, security, economic assistance, and more for new olim and elderly residents, including Holocaust survivors,  in the conflict zone. 

Jewish Funders Network / Forum of Foundations       

The Forum of Foundations in Israel is a community of foundation professionals seeking to benefit Israeli society. The Jewish Funders Network is a global community of private foundations and philanthropists whose mission is to promote meaningful giving and to improve philanthropy in the Jewish world. The two organizations are cooperating to build a portal to efficiently connect funders and the needs in the field. The portal will allow NGOs to upload requests which will undergo basic vetting. Funders will be able to quickly review and fund relevant opportunities.

Joint Council of Pre-Military Academies in Israel

The Joint Council of Mechinot (Pre-Military Leadership Academies) is the representative organization of all fifty-four mechinot in Israel. The mission of the council is to help all these institutions, whether oriented toward the secular, traditional, or Orthodox population, turn their common educational vision into practical reality. The Council has been organizing for the mechina participants across the country to volunteer where they are most needed in areas ranging from agriculture, informal education, assisting the elderly and other special populations, refurbishing shelters, among many others.

Jordan River Village 

The Jordan River Village is a haven for children facing severe illnesses and disabilities. The Village has opened its doors to host displaced families of children with special needs or facing serious illness. The Village quickly reached capacity and is operating on a waitlist. Jewish Federations funding will help the Village procure essential medical supplies, accommodate the families for their stay, and provide them with services and treatments.

Kivunim

Kivunim is dedicated to empowering young adults with disabilities to achieve independence and become active members of their communities. Kivunim’s programs are designed to build self-confidence, enhance independence and self-management skills, and foster social inclusion. Jewish Federations support will help young adults who are practicing independent living in a life-preparatory program in Nahariya and Haifa. Kivunim will upgrade safety equipment for the 45 apartments, relocate participants from five apartments without shelters, and provide additional mental health care.

Krembo Wings

Krembo Wings is the only fully inclusive youth movement in Israel that brings together children and youth with and without disabilities for weekly social and educational activities. As of October 2023, the organization has been working with local municipalities and the Homefront Command to expand their activities to provide support to members of the community who need it most. With the support of Jewish Federations, Krembo Wings will open new branches and launch new programs to serve the needs of evacuees in the north and south.

LATET

Latet “To Give” – is a leading Israeli non-profit combatting poverty and food insecurity and working to mobilize Israeli civil society toward mutual responsibility. Latet started providing a humanitarian response to individuals and families affected by the war by providing food and hygiene kits to those most in need. With the support of Jewish Federations, Latet is prioritizing populations such as evacuees from the southern and northern border regions, senior citizens, Holocaust survivors, regular and reserve soldiers, and families in areas which are sustaining significant rocket attacks. Latet is also distributing 15,000 school kits for evacuee children in 1st to 6th grades that include everything needed for them to continue their studies at their temporary educational facilities.

Latet Pe

Latet Pe’s (Translation: Give Voice) objective is to minimize sexual abuse and harassment in schools and communities. They specialize in unique educational programs that empower children and assist adults in creating healthy, simple, and positive discourse on the sensitive issue of sexuality and sexual abuse. New project to prevent/deal with sexual predators for evacuee children and youth in the hotel setting.

Leket    

Leket Israel is the leading food rescue organization in Israel. Leket collects healthy, surplus food and distributes it to populations in need through partner organizations. With the support of Jewish Federations, Leket will provide hundreds of thousands of meals to evacuees, senior citizens, and families from the hardest-hit areas of Israel. It will also distribute reloadable food purchase cards for families in need, such as those who lost their source of income or single parents who are unable to work. Leket is also supporting local agriculture by purchasing millions of pounds of produce directly from Israeli farmers who are facing a significant labor crisis and competition from imports and collaborating with major institutions to enable high-school students to assist with agricultural harvests.

Ma’ase

Ma’ase  is a hub for social volunteerism that works to promote responsibility, shared civil society, and active citizenship among young people from diverse groups across Israel. Its mission is to advance social mobility among young people from Israel’s peripheries. Ma’ase has established an informal school for evacuee children at the Dead Sea hotels and its volunteers provide a range of services, such as daycare for the children of essential workers and other volunteer tasks elsewhere in Israel. 

Ma’avarim

Ma’avarim – Israeli Trans Community is collaborating with the other two leading trans-led NGOs in Israel, the Gila Project and Trans Israel, to provide a social care and welfare emergency response for this marginalized and highly vulnerable population. The NGOs are working through Ma’avarim’s Social Care Center for trans and gender-diverse individuals, which was established in 2020 with the Ministry of Welfare and providing special response for Russian-speaking and Arabic-speaking trans individuals in partnership with the Jerusalem Open House.

Maccabi World Union  

Maccabi World Union, an international Jewish sports organization famous for the Maccabiah Games, operates Kfar Maccabiah, a hotel, conference center, and sports complex in Ramat Gan. Within 36 hours of the October 7th attacks, Kfar Maccabiah was at full capacity hosting nearly 1,000 evacuees from across southern Israel. Staff and volunteers are providing three meals a day and utilizing the facilities on site to host extensive activities for children and adults.  

Magen David Adom     

Magen David Adom (MDA) is Israel’s National Emergency Pre-Hospital Medical and Blood Services Organization. MDA is Israel’s largest volunteer organization and provides emergency medical services across Israel. During emergencies, MDA’s volunteers and professional staff work around the clock to save lives. Jewish Federations will assist MDA to urgently upgrade Basic Life Support ambulances to become Mobile Intensive Care Units and replenish critical medical supplies. 

Masa Israeli – I Belong Israel

Masa Israeli is a national educational organization that leads thousands of educational trips for Israeli and diaspora teens annually. Masa Israeli is now conducting educational and recreational activities for youth who have been evacuated to hotels throughout the country and is also working with youth who have not been evacuated from communities such as Ofakim and Netivot. These youth and their families are experiencing high levels of distress and difficulty due to the traumatic experiences they have faced.

Mitchashvim/2B.Friendly 

Mitchashvim is the largest non-profit in Israel distributing refurbished computers with a national, supervised, transparent, and equitable distribution model. It is partnering with 2B.Friendly, a fund which promotes a just and environmentally friendly economy through the power of the private sector. Mitchashvim will be providing thousands of laptops to evacuees and others in need during the war.

MOSHE

MOSHE – Words that Make a Difference is an organization devoted to reducing suicide rates through community-based interventions. In Israel, an estimated 600 people die by suicide each year and 13,000 people in suicide-related distress. Since October 7, countless people are suffering from acute mental health issues – and heightened suicide risk. MOSHE is providing community interventions that are highly effective and save lives – through a call center, professional training, and both direct interventions and group sessions for those in crisis.

NATAL                 

NATAL is an apolitical non-profit organization that offers psychological and emotional treatment and support to victims of trauma due to war and terror. Since its establishment in 1998, NATAL has provided psychological assistance to individuals in Israel from all sectors of society, irrespective of age, gender, and ethnicity. With Jewish Federation support hotlines are available for those in need along with direct care.

NATAN 

NATAN is an all-volunteer NGO dedicated to providing aid in the wake of both natural and human-made disasters, regardless of location or circumstances. In collaboration with Clalit Health Services, the largest Israeli HMO, NATAN has established and is operating medical and dental clinics in Shafayim, the Dead Sea, and Eilat to provide services to the large evacuee populations housed in those locations. 

Nefesh B’Nefesh             

Nefesh B’Nefesh supports those making Aliyah from North America, from the initial process to starting new lives in Israel. With the support of Jewish Federations, Nefesh B’Nefesh will provide free counseling services to support families living in the South, parents of Lone Soldiers, bereaved Olim families, injured Lone Soldiers, and the general English-speaking population. In addition, a dedicated team of social workers will assist Lone Soldiers, visit hospitals, counsel bereaved parents, and address incoming calls from concerned parents overseas. Jewish Federations will also join a major initiative to bring new physicians to Israel, focusing on the needs of the north and the south, to ensure the future prosperity  of these geographic regions.

Neve Eshkol

Neve Eshkol is the Association for the Elderly in the Eshkol Regional Council, which has a sixty-kilometer border with the Gaza Strip and is the region that suffered the most casualties and hostages taken on October 7. Neve Eshkol provides welfare services and leisure activities for elderly people in the region, including Holocaust survivors. Since the war and the evacuation of the residents, Neve Eshkol has been taking care of a variety of needs for 700 elderly people, and in some cases their foreign caregivers, who are staying in multiple evacuation sites around the country. 

NGOs in Frontline Municipalities or Regional Councils

Jewish Federations are providing grants to 39 local non-governmental organizations in frontline communities to help these communities meet the deep immediate challenges of attending to the immense needs of their populations while rebuilding infrastructure and restoring the sense of security, community, and routine.

Nirim Foundation 

Nirim operates a nationwide educational-therapeutic program that, every year, gives hundreds of high-risk youth another opportunity, sometimes their last, to return to Israeli society as citizens who contribute to themselves, their families, and the country. Nirim runs a Youth Village – a residential setting for 120 extreme-risk teens; and “Nirim in the Neighborhoods” – a community-based program that works with at-risk youth in underserved populations throughout Israel. Jewish Federations are supporting the evacuation of the residents from the youth village and extra home visits to youth-at-risk in communities under threat in northern and southern Israel.  Nirim  also provides youth at risk activities and support to evacuee youth in northern Israel and Eilat.

Ohr Torah Stone 

Ohr Torah Stone is a network of 32 educational institutions, social projects, outreach programs, and leadership initiatives to educate and prepare the next generation to strengthen society, perfect the world, and serve as a light unto the nations. Ohr Torah Stone has opened the doors of their retreat center to evacuees from southern Israel and are providing all their basic needs for an indefinite stay as the war continues, in addition to providing day activities for the children.  

Olim Beyahad

Olim Beyahad works to change Israeli society’s stereotypes and misconceptions about Ethiopian Israelis and facilitate their integration into all facets of society via high-quality employment integration, excellence in education, and in-depth media interventions. Olim Beyahad will use its extensive network and credibility as a leading Ethiopian Israeli organization to organize a clinical mental health initiative in partnership with Wuste Tzega, the Center for Culturally Adapted Psychotherapy. They will provide culturally sensitive therapy, including in the Amharic language, to families affected by the war.

Olei – The Union of Olim from Latin America, Spain, and Portugal

Olei is an olim (immigrant) association with twenty branches across Israel. It aids immigrants from Latin America, Spain and Portugal with Aliyah (immigration) and klita (absorption). Olei is providing a range of support services in Spanish and Portuguese for Latin American olim who have been affected by the war (including elderly, recent arrivals, jobseekers, and Lone Soldiers).

Organization for Israel’s Terror Victims

The Organization for Israel’s Terror Victims is the Representative Organization which supports thousands of family members, widows, orphans and disabled people who are recognized by the State of Israel as terror victims. With Jewish Federation support, families of orphans and widows from October 7 will be assigned a professional support person for three months who provides broad logistical and administrative assistance as well as emotional support during the challenging initial months.

Orr Shalom       

Orr Shalom is Israel’s largest provider for children in Out-of-Home Care, serving children at-risk who have been removed from their homes by the welfare authorities due to severe abuse and neglect, including children with mental and physical disabilities. With the assistance of Jewish Federations, Orr Shalom will provide extra support to the children living in group homes in areas under fire and to graduates who have been affected by the emergency.

Osim Shechuna                

Osim Shechuna empowers youth, building communities and developing local leadership within troubled neighborhoods in Israel. Osim has rapidly built a network of partnerships to facilitate volunteers to rapidly make thousands of neglected communal bomb shelters in northern Israel habitable. Osim Shechuna is expanding their activities to more geographic areas in the south and center of Israel that are at risk of continued or new rocket attacks.

OTI – The Israeli Autism Association

OTI – The Israeli Autism Association is a leading Israeli organization dedicated to providing professional support to families and individuals affected by autism. Their mission is to empower individuals with autism to reach their full potential and lead fulfilling lives. Oti is operating a special education system for evacuee children and teens with special needs in Eilat in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education.

Otot

Otot Association operates 37 out-of-home residential frameworks for young people – with specialized options for women, Arab Israelis, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jews, and LGBTQ+ individuals. These frameworks are supported by the Ministry of Welfare and most residents are referred by court orders, probation services, or municipal welfare departments. Three of Otot’s frameworks were directly affected by the events of October 7 – the Beit Dekel hostel for at-risk teen boys, the Neot Aviv hostel for at-risk teen girls, and the Makom Acher co-ed residence. Otot will provide a six-month approach for these three facilities including additional professional support, trauma-intervention, and therapeutic modalities.

OU Israel

OU Israel is the Orthodox Union’s branch in Israel, established to promote the unity of the Jewish people by celebrating the common Jewish experience to positively impact Israeli society, strengthen its next generation, absorb new immigrants, and empower Israel’s periphery. During the war, OU Israel has created a variety of responses, including providing relief efforts for evacuees in 15 hotels in Jerusalem, operating the “chaverim makshivim” crisis hotline for religious youth and families, supporting the OU Israel Youth Centers from Sderot and Kiryat Shmona which are evacuated, and planning Shabbaton experiences in Jerusalem for OU Israel evacuated youth-at-risk. 

Paamonim

Paamonim works to help families handle their finances with balance, responsibility, and transparency, fortifying our nation’s socioeconomic foundation. Paamonim guides and provides financial support to anyone interested and provides knowledge, tools, and skills for wise financial conduct. Paamonim is offering ongoing assistance for evacuees, reservists and other affected Israelis with debt management and financial grants to navigate recovery challenges. Services are delivered both digitally and in-person at evacuee centers.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel/ASSAF 

Physicians for Human Rights Israel is an Israeli non-profit organization that promotes the right to health for all people living under Israel’s responsibility. ASSAF – Aid Organization for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel provides support and assistance to refugees, driven by a deep-rooted belief in the historical responsibility of Israeli society toward those seeking refuge. The two organizations will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to vulnerable refugees who have been affected by the war, particularly those who have lost their jobs. 

Pitchon-Lev 

Pitchon Lev is one of Israel’s largest humanitarian organizations, established as a national humanitarian organization focused on breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty in Israel. Pitchon-Lev directly assists over 200,000 individuals and families every year, distributing thousands of food parcels, clothes, home equipment, and much more to needy families on a weekly basis, regardless of their gender, religion, race or nationality. During the emergency Pitchon Lev has greatly expanded its humanitarian aid deliveries to meet the needs of the homebound and displaced. 

Project Kesher Israel (PKI)

Project Kesher Israel (PKI) has been operating in Israel for 15 years and has created a coalition of groups dedicated to the needs of Russian-speaking women in Israel. Since the escalation of the war in Ukraine, PKI has been providing support to 1,500 women and children from Ukraine and Russia who have sought refuge in Israel. PKI will provide food parcels and cash cards for refugees who have lost their jobs, mental health support and first aid kits.

Regional Council for Unrecognized Arab Villages

The Regional Council for Unrecognized Arab Villages in the Negev offers support to 300,000 members of the Bedouin community living in the southern Negev desert region of Israel. During the October 7 attack, many Bedouin villages suffered rocket attacks. With Jewish Federations’ support, they will set up a food assistance program and hire social workers to respond to the acute needs of families and children.

SAHI – Special Hessed Unit 

SAHI is a youth-at-risk program with a unique and successful model based on the notion that giving transforms the giver’s life just as much as that of the receiver. SAHI is utilizing it existing branches across Israel with more than 1,500 involved young people and volunteers to provide services and deliver humanitarian aid to those affected by the war, especially vulnerable populations such as isolated elderly people. SAHI has been rapidly expanding to additional locations with a special focus on empowering evacuee youth and supporting them with a community of their peers, while helping those in need.

Safe Place

Safe Place “Mekomot Shmurim” is dedicated to promoting accessibility and inclusion in the arts, through sensorily and cognitively accessible events for children and adults with autism, anxiety, and ADHD, by offering tailormade performances created with the help of therapeutic professionals. Safe Place is providing three performances and two activities for evacuee children and families in each of 10 different sites around Israel. 

Sapir College   

Sapir College, Israel’s largest public college, is located just two miles from the Gaza border and provides high-quality, equitable, and accessible higher education in Israel’s Southern periphery. Federation support will help the college build a Trauma-Resiliency Treatments and Basic Needs Fund to provide students and staff with critical trauma and resiliency treatments to regain the capacity to function and provide grants to cover urgent basic needs for over 1,000 students. Additionally, an important part of the College’s vision is the advancement of the Bedouin Arab population of the Negev. Jewish Federations will enable Bedouin students to access the technology necessary to participate in a dedicated pre-academic program.

Schechter Institute

Schechter was founded 39 years ago to offer a fresh alternative for Israel: meaningful Jewish education in an open, pluralistic environment. Their response to the war is reflected in their regular work, including strengthening rabbinic presence in local communities, a national hotline for spiritual care, support for recent Ukrainian and Russian olim, and updated resource kids and activities for the TALI Educational Fund, a network of 80 schools and 1000 kindergartens throughout Israel.

Selah

Selah, a member of the Israel Trauma Coalition, provides immediate, urgent, emotional, and practical assistance to new immigrants who have experienced the harshest tragedies, acute crises and lack resources to cope.  Selah is providing immediate, urgent direct emotional and practical aid to grieving new immigrant families who have lost their loved ones during the war, wounded new immigrants and their families and new immigrants who are re-living traumas. Selah also organizes support groups for traumatized immigrants.

Shahaf Foundation

The Shahaf Foundation was established in 2010 as a philanthropic partnership to advance and empower the geo-social periphery of Israel and convert the neighborhoods and towns there from vulnerable distress areas into strong, in-demand areas. During the current emergency, the Foundation, in cooperation with additional philanthropists, are advancing a large-scale plan intended to develop deep resilience by assisting the local authorities in coping with the evacuee population and with the inhabitants in communities that had not been evacuated. They have implemented the model in Sderot and now are seeking funding for Ashkelon.

Shalom Hartman Institute

The Shalom Hartman Institute is a leading center of Jewish thought and education, serving Israel and North America. Their mission is to strengthen Jewish peoplehood, identity, and pluralism; to enhance the Jewish and democratic character of Israel; and to ensure that Judaism is a compelling force for good in the 21st century. In response to the October 7 attack, the Institute has launched a new initiative through which graduates and students of the Beit Midrash for Israeli Rabbis provide spiritual support and guidance for evacuated communities.

Shalva 

Shalva is a Jerusalem-based association for care and inclusion of people with disabilities, providing a range of services for people of all ages and backgrounds from recreation to employment training to independent living, plus family support. Shalva has taken in 100 evacuees from an institution for youth-at-risk and with Jewish Federations’ support, will provide for all their needs during the stay.

Sheatufim/Zionism 2000

Sheatufim and Zionism 2000 are two infrastructure organizations that have brought real change in Israeli reality for many years. Through national system-building activities along with a variety of sectors and populations, they have led emergency initiatives on a national scale in times of strife and emergency. With Jewish Federations’ support, their new joint initiative Yeladanu will provide a comprehensive, immediate, and quality response to the diverse needs of children and youth living on our borders.

Shoresh Fund

The Shoresh Fund’s immediate aid fund was established to support the immediate needs of the families in the Gaza border region affected by the war. Shoresh Fund strives to provide an immediate solution and fill needs ASAP. It is in constant contact with communities (both evacuees and residents who chose to remain) to fill a range of immediate needs. Examples include generators, setting up a temporary dining hall, washing machines etc.

Simcha Layeled

Simcha Layeled is dedicated to improving the quality of life for thousands of disabled and seriously ill children in hospitals and rehabilitation centers throughout Israel. It emphasizes a personal connection with each child and the development of long-term relationships during hospital stays, rehabilitation, and into the future. With Jewish Federations support, Simcha Layeled is providing personal, emotional, and social support services to more than 300 children from affected regions in the north and south of Israel.

Social Delivery (Shinua Hevrati)                 

Social Delivery (Shinua Hevrati) efficiently delivers humanitarian aid across Israel sourced from corporate donors and NGO partners. During the emergency, it has become a key player in ensuring that humanitarian supplies are able to be warehoused and delivered quickly and efficiently wherever they are needed. It is assisting other Jewish Federation grantees with their logistical needs.

Summer Camps Israel

Summer Camps Israel serves a networking and umbrella organization that works to build the field of extended overnight summer camp in Israel supporting operators with capacity grants, subsidized fees, and a forum of learning and sharing of best practices. With Jewish Federations support, they will provide displaced young people with a 3-day winter camp experience. 

Sunflowers

Sunflowers provides psychological support for orphans across Israel, aiding 750 families in 30 activity centers across Israel. To address the tragic increase of orphans due to October 7, Sunflowers must scale to support these new orphans. With Jewish Federation’s support, Sunflowers will open additional after school centers in the south to provide orphans with trauma reducing activities in a supportive environment.

Survivors of the Holocaust Emergency Fund (SHEF-IL)

Survivors of the Holocaust Emergency Fund (SHEF-IL) brings together philanthropy (led by the Seed the Dream Foundation and including Jewish Federations), local authorities and Israeli civil society organizations to ensure that the critical needs of Holocaust survivors in Israel are met. The initiative is being piloted in several cities in southern Israel. SHEF-IL will now expand its support to the evacuee communities in the Gaza border region and will also assist elderly residents (over 85) who are not Holocaust survivors.

Tamar

Tamar was founded by care workers from the Arab community with the goal of providing culturally accessible response services for the Bedouin and Arab communities. The organization specializes in developing innovative therapeutic, educational and community responses during routine times as well as times of crisis and war. Since the start of the emergency, Tamar has operated an Arabic mental health hotline, provided emotional support services and psychotherapy, distributed Arabic language materials, and conducted professional trauma training.

Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center 

The Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center is Israel’s first and largest center of its kind. It fields more than 12,000 crisis calls annually through its hotlines and provides clinical care and tailored programming for individuals and communities across the spectrum of Israeli society, including IDF and first responders. Since the October 7 attacks, the Center has received a surge of requests from survivors of sexual violence. Jewish Federations’ funding ensures that survivors receive the care they need as well as ensures that first responders receive critical training.  

Tene Briut          

Tene Briut is dedicated to advocating for and improving the health of Ethiopian Israelis. For some Ethiopian Israelis, absorption difficulties, communication barriers, and – in some cases – a different cultural understanding of health issues can result in low medical response rates, frustration, and even misdiagnosis. With Jewish Federations’ support, Tene Bruit has mobilized to provide mental health and emotional support via their Amharic hotline, mediation and translation services, distribution of emergency communications in Amharic, and specialized care for elderly Ethiopian-Israeli immigrants.

The Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo

The Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo is a public college with approximately 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students in six schools, including the School of Behavioral Sciences, which comprises the largest and most comprehensive program in Israel for M.A. studies in psychology. The School of Behavioral Sciences houses the Mifrasim Institute for the Study and Teaching of Psychotherapy which specializes in capacity building of mental health professionals in a variety of therapeutic methods and around wide range of psychological conditions. The Mifrasim Institute has launched a dedicated skill and capacity-building program for one thousand therapists in two parallel and complementary training sessions focusing on Primary Mental Health Intervention for Severe Traumatic States and Treatment of Complex Traumatic Grief to increase the number of mental health professionals able to respond to this current moment.

The Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Survivors         

The Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Survivors provides diverse programs and services to Holocaust survivors who require assistance and raise public awareness for their welfare. Jewish Federations are enabling the Foundation to provide survivors with food packages and “Emergency Safe Room Kits” that include emergency lighting, radios, and first aid kits.

The Haifa Association for Immigrants Absorption

The Haifa Association for Immigrants Absorption works with the Haifa municipality to assist, guide, and support all immigrants as well as refugees in the city of Haifa. Large numbers of Ukrainian and Russian immigrants have arrived in the city over the last two years. The Association is providing additional services to new olim (immigrants) who are facing additional challenges due to the ongoing war, as well as additional support for lone soldiers living in the city.

The Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ)   

The Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) is a communal, spiritual, and social Jewish movement. IMPJ will be working with children at risk from the Gaza border area and other frontline areas who have been affected by the emergency; rabbis in areas under fire and throughout the country are providing group and individual counseling; and rabbis and lay leaders will work with those with mental disabilities and other special populations, and it will ensure its staff have the tools to ensure their own resilience while working with traumatized populations. Mechina participants volunteer to run informal education activities for evacuee children and youth in the Tel Aviv area and perform other volunteer roles like supporting families of reservists and cleaning bomb shelters.

The Jerusalem Civilian Command Center        

The Jerusalem Civilian Command Center is a coalition of four NGOs created for the emergency to coordinating an extensive volunteer effort to organize housing for families fleeing their homes, critical supplies for soldiers in the field, babysitters for essential workers, clothing and medical supplies, mental health counseling for victims of the war, and many other needs. Jewish Federations is supporting the provision of housing and humanitarian aid for evacuees and additional support for emergency operations.

The Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin

The Lone Soldier Center (LSC) was founded in 2009 by a group of former lone soldiers aware and concerned with the needs and struggles of the more than 7,000 lone soldiers serving in the IDF. While many lone soldiers are new immigrants or volunteers from abroad, 47% of lone soldiers are native-born Israelis. These Israeli lone soldiers often come from complicated domestic situations or are estranged from their families, sometimes because of their decision to serve in the IDF. The LSC provides housing options, community building, counseling and guidance, and addresses a wide variety of requests for assistance for soldiers in their regular service and for reservists. Jewish Federations will help the LSC expand their housing assistance options for lone soldiers in need because of the war.

The Masorti Movement              

The Masorti Movement is an indigenous effort by Israelis for Israelis to create a pluralistic, egalitarian, inclusive approach to living a Jewish life in Israel. The Masorti movement is housing and supporting hundreds of evacuees at its member communities Hannaton and Ketura, as well as providing support to evacuees across the country. Movement staff are providing a range of pastoral services for the Masorti community in Israel and Conservative communities abroad.

The National Israeli Society for Children and Adults with Autism (ALUT)

ALUT is the leading organization in Israel for diagnosis, treatment, representation, and research in the field of Autism. ALUT’s activities focus on three main areas: establishing, operating, and developing services for children and adults with autism and their families; advocating and promoting the rights of children and adults with autism and their families, and promoting new research on autism. During the emergency, ALUT is supporting autistic kindergartners from the Gaza border area who were evacuated to the Dead Sea; training therapists, professionals, and service providers on autism and trauma; and enhancing the resilience of high-functioning young adults on the autism spectrum.

The Public Forum

The Public Forum was established to advance boarding school frameworks in Israel. It includes youth villages and Israel’s welfare and foster boarding schools. During routine times, the Forum works to provide the optimal response for about 50,000 youth and graduates of youth villages and boarding schools, some of whom do not have any family support. The Forum will provide a small amount of financial support to 1,500 young people who have both been affected by the conflict and do not have any family support.

The Shitim Institute      

The Shitim Institute aims to preserve – and rejuvenate – the celebration of the Jewish holidays and culture in ways that are meaningful and relevant to Jews from all walks of life. The Institute will develop and provide pluralistic content for funerals, and materials to help build resilience in schools and kibbutzim.

Tikkun (HaMachanot HaOlim)

Tikkun – A Center for Gathering, Education and Social Change, builds mission-driven groups of educators and establishes educational and community initiatives in Israel’s socio-geographical periphery. Tikkun is led by graduates of the HaMahanot HaOlim youth movement. Each year, over 25,000 children, youth and adults participate in Tikkun programs. Tikkun is providing programming for evacuee youth in hotels across the country and in lesser-known locations where other providers are less prevalent, such as Gidona, Raanana, Nof HaGalil, Haifa, Tiberias, etc.

TOM – Tikkun Olam Makers  

TOM – Tikkun Olam Makers – is an Israeli-turned-global venture that creates and disseminates affordable solutions to neglected challenges of people living with disabilities, the elderly, and the poor. This emergency is creating an unprecedented number of wounded civilians and soldiers. TOM is deploying its unique capabilities to early-identify the needs of the wounded; develop a portfolio of online free solutions to help them; and support rehabilitation centers, care organizations and the wounded by delivering these solutions in a timely manner. 

Tnufa Bakehila

Tnufa Bakehila rebuilds lives through urgent physical repairs to create safe and respectable living conditions for underprivileged families in Israel, who have been referred by municipal welfare services. These are often physically and mentally disabled people, new immigrants, elderly and Holocaust survivors, single parents, etc. Since the war, Tnufa Bakehila has been repairing and improving bomb shelters across Israel which need extensive professional service. This provides a sense of security and confidence for the residents who share these public and multifamily shelters.

Tzofim (Hebrew Scouts Movement in Israel)

The Tzofim, established in 1919, is part of the World Organization of the Scouts Movement and is the first and largest youth movement in Israel. Today, it operates through non-formal educational chapters for fourth through twelfth graders, both secular and religious. The movement has about 90,000 scouts in 241 chapters throughout Israel. With the help of Jewish Federations, the Tzofim will continue their volunteer work in evacuation centers and hospitals and support youth resilience and mental health for members in affected regions.

Tzohar

Tzohar is a socially conscious Modern Orthodox organization working to secure an ethical, inclusive, and united Jewish society in Israel. It provides an array of Jewish lifecycle and religious services, cultivates rabbinic leadership, and influences public policy. In response to the war, and with the support of Jewish Federations, Tzohar’s professional, compassionate rabbinic volunteers are providing comfort and guidance to bereaved families, funeral ceremonies and Shiva services, emotional support, and a hotline for halachic questions during wartime and mourning. 

United Hatzalah              

United Hatzalah is a community-based volunteer emergency medical service (EMS) operating across Israel. It has mobilized all 7,000 of its volunteers and dispatched over 120 rescue vehicles to Israel’s southern region. With the help of Jewish Federations, United Hatzalah will be able to purchase critical emergency medical supplies to respond to ongoing attacks.

World ORT        

World ORT, a historic Jewish Federations partner, provides STEAM education to thousands of students in close partnership with schools/municipalities throughout Israel’s periphery. Jewish Federations will support mental health initiatives for students and teachers and will enable students who are displaced to maintain access to learning opportunities and essential technology. 

Yad Sarah         

Since its inception in the winter of 1974, Yad Sarah has taken upon itself the challenge to provide comprehensive and supportive health services that allow individuals in need of care to remain at home and in their communities for as long as possible. The medical and rehabilitative equipment lending service allows everyone to take advantage of the best equipment available, without dependence on public medicine. The emergency call center provides around-the-clock supervision, so even the elderly and the sick can remain at home. The home hospital service makes it possible to replace hospitalization and rehabilitation in institutions with home care without compromising on the quality of treatment.

Yanabia               

Yanabia is an infrastructure organization that was founded and operates within the Bedouin society to narrow the gaps with Jewish society. Despite their proximity to Gaza, most Bedouin communities in southern Israel have zero or few shelters or safe rooms, which has led to multiple casualties in these areas. Yanabia is working to rapidly install 300 mobile safe rooms across the Bedouin communities.

Zaka     

ZAKA (the Hebrew acronym for Disaster Victim Identification) is Israel’s dominant non-governmental rescue and recovery organization, with over 3,000 volunteers. ZAKA has sole responsibility in Israel for dealing with incidents of unnatural death and works in close cooperation with all the emergency services and security forces. After the terrible terror attack, Zaka volunteers have been tending to the honor of the more than 1,200 deceased. Jewish Federations will help supply critical equipment and supplies to aid ZAKA to enable it to continue its difficult mission.