Zalman Duchman, executive director of Colel Chabad, told attendees at the Jerusalem Post Annual New York Conference that the organization’s mission since it was established by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, in 1788, was to enable Diaspora Jewry to connect with Israel by supporting the Jewish community in Israel.
“Colel Chabad is the oldest continuous operating charity fund in Israel and actually the world over,” said Duchman. The organization works in partnership with both local municipalities and the Israeli government and distributes over NIS 400 million annually directly to Israel’s neediest.
“We have a very strong infrastructure working throughout Israel,” he shared. “Whenever there’s an emergency, we’re called up to be able to respond immediately.”
Duchman, who participated in a panel at the conference entitled “Engines of Resilience” with Tema Klausner, president of World Emunah, and Prof. Eduard Yakubov, president of the Holon Institute of Technology, said that today, the necessity for support for Israel from the Diaspora is clear.
“Every person has the ability to make a very strong impact. But I think more than the support that Israel needs is that Diaspora Jews need to support Israel for our own sake. Every single Jew needs a connection to Israel.
“For generations, it was customary to have a tzedakah box in one’s home to deposit coins for charity,” he said. “Our children are being brought up in a totally different world without fiat currency. We must give them something practical and physical that they can do every single day or multiple times a day.
“We have to ingrain it in them to do it on a daily basis. It’s not only the amount of money that is given, but it’s the frequency.” He added that one can download Colel Chabad’s Tzedakah Pushka app to donate today.
This article was written in cooperation with Colel Chabad.