When the Jewish people were in crisis, you responded. It is because of you, and others like you, that our Federation has been able to support our family in Israel through immediate, mid-term, and long-term relief efforts. Over the past year, your gift has provided emergency and evacuation support, trauma and mental health resources, education and respite for displaced youth, and funds to rebuild and strengthen communities.
On behalf of everyone you have helped, we say thank you.
We provided 4,000 bomb shelter upgrades and modifications in low-income neighborhoods
We provided 810 volunteers with emergency preparedness and search and rescue training in Israel’s north
We provided 1,720 children and teens with summer break opportunities including participating in or becoming a counselor at summer camps across Israel, the United States, Italy, and Greece
We provided 4,000 children and teens from evacuated communities with temporary schools, educational and recreational activities, and trauma support
We provided 3,200 youths ages 10-25 with trauma support and mental health services
On October 7th, Michal and Lotan were trapped in their safe room with their three young children for over 18 hours before they were rescued and evacuated. They want one day to move back to their beloved kibbutz, but they know that they can’t until it is completely torn down and built again. They noted they “could not possibly live in the buildings that housed such evil.” Michal feels numb and is just beginning to comprehend the enormity of her grief. Michal, Lotan, and their children are now living safely in a Federation-supported community in a hotel along with hundreds of other people from their kibbutz. We have helped to provide the family with grief counseling, cash assistance, and a temporary school that the kids are now attending at their hotel. The school is specifically designed to replicate the structure of their kibbutz school to help the children feel some sense of normalcy.
Yasmin, a 7th grader from the kibbutz Nahal Oz, eagerly entered high school last September only to have her excitement replaced by trauma a month later. Once evacuated, Yasmin began attending a temporary school facilitated by our Federation. The staff and parents decided it would be beneficial for the teens to attend a regional high school where they could expand social circles and take another step towards stability. This change was difficult for Yasmin. She was angry that the local school was not her home school, and the kids were not her friends. Yasmin tells her teachers she feels labeled. Her teachers encourage her to share her experience with her new classmates. Yasmin shares with her class what her life has been since the attack, which helps her feel more connected to her classmates. In addition to the regular classes, students are offered supplemental workshops like baking. Yasmin suggests they bake cakes and cookies and send them to the soldiers guarding their homes in Nahal Oz. The students bake together, then pack and write cards and letters for the soldiers. Yasmin’s father, who travels to Nahal Oz regularly as part of his community security job, distributes the packages to the soldiers.
*Images may not correlate to the individuals described.