Help Jews Make Aliyah
We are teamed up with The Jewish Agency to help Jews from all over the world immigrate (make Aliyah) to Israel. For anywhere from $2,000-5,000 (depending on the Jew’s current location), a Jewish person can fly to Israel, enroll in a Jewish absorption center, and be given five months of intensive Hebrew training.
Emergency Support for Israel’s Citizens
Early on October 7, terror organizations in Gaza launched a brutal attack on Israel on multiple fronts. Thousands of rockets were fired into cities in the center, the South, and even Jerusalem – while dozens of terrorists from Gaza infiltrated towns in the South of Israel and shot indiscriminately at innocent civilians.
It is still unclear how long the battle will last or how many casualties we will endure. Hundreds of people have been brought to hospitals and hundreds of homes and institutions have been hit – and the numbers continue to rise.
The magnitude of this attack is unprecedented, and a special state of emergency was declared from the South to the center. An extensive mobilization of IDF reserves was called up, and the IDF and security forces are now constantly engaged in protecting the citizens of Israel and maintaining our security. They have officially launched Operation “Iron Swords,” and we strengthen and support them.
The Jewish Agency is present at the GOI roundtables on emergency management and continues to assess our evolving needs relative to the situation.
Fund for the Victims of Terror
The average short-term grant to a family who received a direct hit on their home or person is approximately $1,260. We are estimating that we will need to provide at least 350 short term grants. The average long-term grant, allowing Victims of Terror to receive long term post trauma care is approximately $7,860 per person. We are currently estimating that we will need to provide 750 long term grants.
Unfortunately, we find ourselves at the end of a year in which the Fund has had to distribute many grants due to the high number of terrorist attacks. We are aware of how critical the Fund is for those who find themselves the victims of attacks and therefore it is critical that we do not run out of emergency funding.
Estimated cost of short-term assistance grants: $441,000
Estimated cost of long-term assistance grants: $5,895,000
Estimated need for short and long terms grants: $6,336,000
Care of new olim living in Jewish Agency absorption centers
There are currently 3,856 new olim living in twelve Jewish Agency absorption centers in the region under rocket threat. The overwhelming majority are new olim from Ethiopia, Ukraine and Russia. All of them are feeling the psychological impact of running for shelter from rockets aimed at the absorption centers. This morning, a rocket landed close enough to our Barnea Absorption center that damage was done to the building and one of the apartments had to be evacuated (that same absorption center had a rocket fall in its parking lot in May of 2021). The Jewish Agency needs to take 2,000 olim from those absorption centers for a five-day respite period to allow residents to sleep through the night without fear of running all night and day to shelters.
For those olim who do not want to leave their homes, the Jewish Agency will provide respite activities within the absorption centers for children and teenagers. Our goal is to provide them with entertainment and education that allows that to temporarily take their mind off of the current situation and allows their parents to have a few moments to themselves and address their own needs.
The Jewish Agency is going to take 2,000 olim who are currently living in absorption centers located 7-40 km from Gaza to a five-day respite. Those respites cost $160 per day/per person. In addition, the Jewish Agency will provide respite activities inside the Absorption centers (for those who do want to leave) for up to 1,000 children/teens between the ages of 4-18 for five days costing $30 per day/per person.
Estimated Costs of 5-day Respites: $1,600,000
Estimated Costs of Children’s Activities: $ 330,000
Elderly Living in Amigour
There are currently 2,700 residents of Amigour living in Israel’s South. Residents of Amigour are lucky enough to live in sheltered housing units which makes it possible for them to remain in their homes during rocket attacks from Gaza. However, because of the age of the residents, they must remain in their homes because they would not be able to safely run for shelter in the event that there is a siren. Therefore, Amigour staff must work increased hours to tend to their residents. In addition, because residents cannot leave to procure groceries and other household items, Amigour must provide all of the basic necessities directly to its residents. We will be providing food packages for those who need it for a week and estimate that will be requiring employee overtime for the coming two weeks.
Approximate costs of overtime: $86,000
Approximate costs of food packages: $200,000
Shelter Renovations
Following Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021, the Jewish Agency identified the need for serious capital improvements in its absorption centers in Israel’s South. While all Jewish Agency absorption centers have communal shelters, some are distantly located, small, and/or inadequate due to the age of the building. They are not adapted to the enormous quantity and fast rate of rockets that are fired from Gaza. Many frightened immigrants, concerned that missiles would hit before they reached safety, choose to spend cramped nights in one of the communal shelters in the center. The Jewish Agency urgently seeks to upgrade its facilities in the south to offer better physical protection to absorption center residents and staff against rocket attacks. The brutal attacks of today have indicated that we need to find an immediate solution to this critical problem.
We recognize that these shelters will not get built in time to save olim during this current crisis, but if we do not act now, we will not be able to protect our residents the next time that Israel receives a missile attack from Gaza. We need to recognize that NOW is the moment to rectify this situation.
Below is the current list of sheltering projects:
- Barnea- Absorption Center in Ashkelon- $2,722,831
- Nurit- Absorption Center in Beer Sheva- $4,177,246
- Yealim- Absorption Center in Beer Sheva- $7,390,625
- Shoshana- Absorption Center in Kirayt Gat- $1,897,199
- Beit Canada- Absorption Center in Ashdod- $3,306,663
Total Project Cost: $19,000,000
Remaining Costs after Donations: $16,000,000