Israel Active

I unfortunately posted an incorrect link to my friend Leonie’s photo last week of a couple where both groom and bride were wearing IDF uniforms.  Here is the correct link but you will still need a Facebook account to access it.  Meanwhile, two wedding couples celebrated - in a bomb shelter!

Nearly two-thirds of the Israeli public donated to various initiatives relating to the war effort during the 3rd week of the Israel-Hamas conflict and gave more money than ever. The joint study by Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Universities reveals the average donation is NIS 458 a week in cash or in kind.

We hope that the IDF will cleanse Gaza of Hamas terrorists. Meanwhile, Rabbi Shai Graucher has set up a mobile laundry with three trucks on the Gaza border to help keep Israeli soldiers fresh. It’s just one activity that his Klal Yisroel organization is undertaking in its Standing Together campaign.

Immediately after the events of Oct 7, world-renowned US neurosurgeon Dr. Teodoro Forcht Dagi volunteered to work at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center. Sheba is treating many of those injured during the war. Dr Dagi brings his experience of the conflicts in Northern Ireland and Kosovo.

The mathematics faculty at Israel’s Technion is helping Israel’s war effort. Many are in the IDF reserves and on the home front. Others are harvesting vegetables, preparing shelters, delivering food & clothing to the IDF, and assisting evacuees from border towns.

Many foreign farm workers left Israel at the start of the war. Charities Hashomer HaHadash, Achim Lemeshek, and Zav 8 have been recruiting Israeli volunteers to replace them.  30 volunteers are currently working at the Ben Saadon farm and packing plant in Be’er Ganim, near Ashkelon.

Nearly 4,000 of the 5,700 young Jewish adults (aged 18-30) from abroad on the Masa Israel Journey program ended up staying in Israel during the war and many who left are returning. This article features one participant who came to teach English and is now a volunteer chef for the IDF.

Western Galilee Now’s Support Package initiative enables people to send gift boxes to evacuees, soldiers or any loved one in Israel. The boxes are filled with premium products sold by small Galilee and Negev-based businesses who are suffering loss of income due to the war. Backed by JNF-USA.

US-based Varonis converted its Herzliya office’s open space into a huge camp for 250 evacuees from the southern cities of Netivot, Ofakim, and Ashkelon and the northern city Kiryat Shmona. After one week, it moved them to a hotel that its employees paid for by redeeming their vacation days.

The Israel R&D Center of AT&T has a 6-point plan for looking after its staff during the war. 1. Staying in contact; 2. Discreet mental support; 3. Employee relief fund and charity donation facility; 4. Kids programs; 5. Support for employees in IDF; 6. Volunteering initiatives.