When Israel faces an existential crisis, Jews of the world shell out millions, possibly billions of dollars in attempts to save the day.
At this moment in time, numerous Israeli organizations and institutions are receiving enormous sums of money for use on behalf of evacuees, lone soldiers, families of army reservists, war widows and orphans, and hospitals that are treating the wounded. There are also the regular donations for educational projects and purposes, scientific and technological research, and religious institutions.
In addition, at this time of the year, there are the traditional kimcha d’Pascha collections for the poor to ensure that no one goes hungry during the Passover festival.
Those who can afford it are spreading their money in all directions – and it keeps coming.
An example is the recent Aish HaTorah fundraising campaign, which has exceeded its $4 million goal.
Using innovative technology, the Jerusalem-based religious organization ran an online global campaign dubbed Aish United, which also included hundreds of volunteers making calls to donors over a three-day period from a temporary call center set up in the Dan Family Aish World Center. The outpouring of financial backing will allow the organization to further its mission of inspiring and connecting Jewish people around the globe by utilizing cutting-edge technology and innovative digital solutions.
“We were simply blown away by the incredible display of unity and support during the Aish United campaign,” said Aish CEO Rabbi Steven Burg.
“Raising over $4m. is a tremendous achievement that will empower us to reach and positively impact more Jewish people than ever before through dynamic digital engagement utilizing new platforms we have in active development.”
“This incredible success reaffirms that our donors believe deeply in the importance of our innovative approaches to spreading Jewish wisdom and values in exciting and relevant ways,” said Rabbi Ben Gonsher, head of development at Aish. “In today’s age of widespread assimilation and disconnect, especially among younger generations, there is a burning need to creatively utilize technology to reignite the inner spark within every Jew worldwide, and people relate to that mission and want to partner with us to achieve it.”
Aish has been a trailblazer in online Jewish education and now ranks as the fourth-largest online Jewish content provider. With this substantial new funding, it will be able to further scale its boundary-pushing initiatives and explore even more innovative ways to deliver dynamic, spiritually enriching content and experiences accessible on the digital channels with which today’s generations are constantly engaged.
One of the important aspects of Aish is the method in which it imparts Jewish knowledge and wisdom, whereby individuals not necessarily ready to commit to religious observance, but wanting to enrich their Jewish knowledge, along with a sense of Jewish identity and belonging can receive what they’re looking for in a user-friendly manner.
SOME JEWS as well as non-Jews looking to do something meaningful for Israel have joined the tree-planting initiative in communities close to the Gaza border to ensure a natural security buffer, an income for farmers, and fruit for the nation.
Some donors simply send money to pay for the cost of one or more trees, while others not only send money, but come to Israel to plant their trees and have the satisfaction of knowing that they have physically contributed to Israel’s future security and economy.
The importance of trees is contained in a biblical injunction not to destroy the trees of the enemy.
The dream of Israel’s founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion was to see the desert bloom, so it comes as no surprise that an ambitious $1 billion campaign led by Ben-Gurion University to rebuild Israel through the South already has more than $380m. in hand to kickstart the healing process for the South and shape the region’s long-term future.
The campaign was launched in New York by Americans for Ben-Gurion University (A4BGU) under the name “Way Forward.” The aim is to strengthen the future of Israel through its South, with BGU as the region’s anchor institution and engine for growth.
Among the donors to date are several prominent philanthropists and foundations including Sylvan Adams ($100m.), Katja Goldman and Michael Sonnenfeldt ($20m.), The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust ($18m.), the Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation ($15m.), and Ernest Scheller ($6m.).
Tasked with securing 60%, or $600m. of the campaign’s $1b. goal, A4BGU is galvanizing American supporters into action. The $1b. raised in the Way Forward campaign will support BGU’s capital building and expansion projects ($500m.), student access and support ($250m.), and research excellence ($250m.).
“On October 6, it was already evident that the future of Israel is in the South and that Ben-Gurion University would drive that future. On October 7, BGU’s community was disproportionately affected by the attacks. In the days that followed, the university began demonstrating just how vital it is to the remarkable resilience of the entire nation,” said Doug Seserman, CEO of A4BGU. “Through this historic campaign, Diaspora supporters are rallying around Israel’s essential efforts to rebuild the South, with the university leading the way forward as both the epicenter of the region and the key to its recovery.”
A number of BGU students volunteered in hospitals throughout Israel, providing medical and psychological assistance to wounded Israelis and their families. Students and faculty members supported the families of soldiers called up for reserve duty by looking after their children and maintaining their homes. University dormitories opened to families of casualties, evacuees, and army reservists, while evacuated families were also being hosted at the homes of BGU faculty and staff. Dozens of students and staff members supported a massive logistical operation for sorting and preparing food and supplies contributions.
October 7 hit the Negev the most, with BGU students disproportionately impacted
It is estimated that 80% of Israelis killed in the October 7 attacks were from the Negev, while close to 3,000 were treated at BGU’s Soroka and Barzilai medical centers, and 200,000 Negev residents were displaced from their homes. The BGU community was disproportionately impacted compared to other universities in Israel, with 111 people killed (including fallen soldiers, students, and immediate relatives); 29 wounded; eight missing or kidnapped; 1,000 displaced from their homes; and more than 6,600 called to reserve duty, with several hundred still in active service within the first weeks of the war.
“From its inception, Ben-Gurion University has had a major role in building the future of Israel through developing the Negev,” BGU president Prof. Daniel Chamovitz said. “Over the past half-century, we have accomplished the remarkable in transforming the desert into a center of research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. In the wake of the tragedy of October 7, the dual calling of BGU – the fostering of cutting-edge research and building the Negev – is clearer than ever. We are proud to take a central role in continuing to build Israel’s future from the Negev.”
MEANWHILE, many young Diaspora Jews are considering moving permanently or temporarily to Israel. The number of these young people attending open days at Israeli universities during wartime is remarkable.
At Bar-Ilan University, for instance, 1,100 new immigrants considering a university education attended an academic fair and interacted with representatives of the Immigration and Integration Ministry, the Israel Student Authority, Diaspora immigrant organizations, the IDF, and more. A team of advisers from Bar-Ilan University’s Dean of Students Office, as well as representatives from other leading universities, such as the Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, Reichman, Haifa, and Ben-Gurion universities also participated to ensure that these potential students become equipped with the information necessary to reach their ultimate decisions regarding higher education.
Over the years, the absorption of aliyah has been part of Bar-Ilan University’s mission as a Zionist and Jewish university founded in 1955 by Prof. Pinkhos Churgin and a group of new immigrants from the United States.
“Bar-Ilan is the university that absorbs the highest number of immigrants and a large number of our faculty members are immigrants themselves,” said university CEO and deputy president Zohar Yinon. “Even amidst the challenging and complex days of an ongoing war, it is exciting to see that higher education is an effective platform for growth and renewal and a stable anchor for young people in Israel and in the Diaspora.”
THE MEMORY of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, has been perpetuated through the naming of a fortified unit for pediatric dialysis at Schneider Children’s Hospital in Petah Tikva.
Eckstein would have been delighted to have his name associated with a life-saving support system that would give fresh hope to children and their parents.
The unit’s development was made possible with the gift of $1.447m. from IFCJ earmarked for the specific purpose of enabling uninterrupted dialysis treatments during crisis periods, such as war, and the threat of rockets and missiles.
The unit includes 11 patient stations and two isolation rooms with reinforced construction that can absorb direct strikes.
The dedication ceremony for the unit was attended by Schneider Hospital and IFCJ representatives and members of families whose children are receiving treatment in the hospital’s dialysis center.
“ The need for a protected facility of this type comes from the constantly changing threat to the home front and the strategic role we play in Israel’s healthcare infrastructure,” said Schneider director Dr. Efrat Baron Harlev. “Since October 7, we have been actively working to ensure maximum physical protection for all our patients, staff, and visitors.”
COMING UP at the Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem on Wednesday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. is another book launch by best-selling author Tuvia Tenenbom, who has already had a successful launch in Tel Aviv.
Born in Bnei Brak, the irreverent Tenenbom, who gained international fame with a previous book Catch the Jew, is the son and grandson of rabbis, but broke away from the ultra-Orthodox way of life while still young.
His current book, Careful, Beauties Ahead!, is based on a year that he spent in Mea She’arim.
He will discuss that time and his book with Steve Linde, editor of The Jerusalem Report and a former editor of The Jerusalem Post.
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