What you can do to help Israel at this time

Many of our WLCJ Sisters asked how they can help Israel during this difficult war. Here’s a partial list of organizations to support and resources of more ways to help.

Support 

• Jewish Federations of North America Joint Campaign
  Jewish Federations are responding, working with our core partners to support victims of terror, help rebuild damaged infrastructure, and address the unprecedent levels of trauma caused by this horrific attack.
• Schechter’s Israel Emergency Campaign
  Support Schechter’s Efforts to Assist the People of Israel in Our Time of Strife!
• Masorti’s Emergency War Campaign
  The Masorti Movement, NOAM and our kehillot are running various activities to help those affected by the war in Gaza: from spiritual and physical assistance to evacuees, to providing chairs for shiva houses; from preparing meals for soldiers to programming for evacuee children. We have initiated programming based on information available during the first days of the war; we will continually evaluate and update these programs to meet developing needs arising from the war.
• AZM American Zionist Movement – works to promote and defend Zionism in the United States; to deepen and expand the active relationship of the American Jewish Community to Zionism in a contemporary context. AZM are raising funds to purchase laptops, tablets and, cell phones for families who have been evacuated from their homes in southern Israel as a consequence of the horrific terrorist attacks.
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee – This leading Jewish humanitarian organization has activated their emergency response team and JDC Responds: Emergency in Israel campaign to support Israelis who are currently in the line of fire including vulnerable populations. 
• The Jewish Agency for Israel North American Council (JAFINA) – JAFINA’s Fund for Victims of Terror is a first responder when terror strikes, providing immediate assistance to terror victims, arriving with checks within 24-48 hours of an attack, and following up with long term rehabilitative support.
• Jewish Agency for Israel – Jewish Agency for Israel is strengthening and supporting Israel’s Operation Iron Sword to address the most urgent needs while Israel is under fire and subject to acts of terrorism. This fund supports the victims of terror, new olim living in absorption centers under rocket fire, providing for elderly and disabled that are house bound and renovating shelters. To contribute click here.
• Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund – The JCF has opened an emergency fund and is working with the Israel Trauma Coalition, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Jewish Agency for Israel to support victims affected by the war in Israel, helping to rebuild damaged infrastructures, and address trauma. Donate here, or through a donor-advised fund here.
• The Jewish Federations of North America JFNA – movement, collectively among the top 10 charities on the continent, protects and enhances the well-being of Jews worldwide through the values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedakah (charity and social justice) and Torah (Jewish learning). To support their efforts click here. 
• Jewish National Fund – In the wake of the unprecedented, unprovoked, and devastating attack by the terrorist group Hamas on civilian communities in Israel, Jewish National Fund-USA has mobilized to raise funds critical to meeting the immediate needs created by the thousands of people being forced to flee and evacuate their homes in the shadow of war. Donate to the Israel resilience campaign.
• UJA Federation of New York’s Israel Emergency Fund – In the wake of heinous terrorist attacks, UJA is mobilizing urgently needed relief for the people of Israel. Emergency cash assistance for victims of terror. Critically needed trauma counseling. Care for children in shelters. Burial expenses. Funds to relocate people to safer areas.
• Jewish Funders Network – actively compiling a list of trusted agencies and nonprofits supported by our members both in Israel and the US.

Community

• BRING THEM HOME NOW! Hostages and Missing Families Forum – In response to the horrific events of October 7th and the kidnapping of the hostages, the families of the hostages formed a volunteer-based forum called “Hostages and Missing Families Forum”. Our focus is reuniting the hostages with their families. We created these “Freedom Tags” to symbolize solidarity, and serve as a fundraiser for the Forum’s ongoing efforts through diplomatic, medical, legal, and public awareness channels. We invite you to show your support and help us continue fighting for this cause by purchasing our “Freedom Tags.” Stand by the innocent civilians and their families – to bring them home now. Together, we can bring them home. 
• Everyone Counts – Our friends, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, are asking us to advocate on a daily basis to our representatives to release the hostages, which includes their son Hersh. They recommend this website: https://oneminaday.com/  Please consider using this website and signing up for daily reminders. In addition to this website, they have launched this educational toolkit website:  https://everyonecounts.live/
• The 10/7 Project – The 10/7 Project is designed to promote continued U.S. bipartisan support for Israel by working to ensure more complete and accurate information about the Israel-Hamas war in real time for policymakers and the American public. A bipartisan effort, The 10/7 Project will focus on fact-based coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, aggressive rapid response, and a media campaign dedicated to reminding policymakers and the broader American public about the more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas terrorists; uplifting the stories of the innocent victims of October 7; setting the record straight about the conflict in Israel and Gaza; and combating misinformation spouted by Hamas terrorists and their anti-Israel allies. The 10/7 Project is led by the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), ADL (the Anti-Defamation League), the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Visit www.the10-7project.com/ to sign up for the daily newsletter.
• Blue Ribbon Campaign – The blue ribbon symbolizes support and solidarity for the safe return of the hostages taken by Hamas terrorists in Israel. It symbolizes solidarity with the hostages, their families, and all who care about their safety. Wearing a ribbon publicly unites you with people of all religions, races, nationalities, ethnicities, ages, and generations and demonstrates for the people of Israel that they are not alone and that good people across the globe are with them and their families during this dark time.  Send a powerful message of solidarity by wearing your ribbon.
• #VoicesForHostages – Advocate – stay abreast of what is happening, read the news critically, and tell Israel’s story to anyone who will listen. There is no justification for the murder of 1,400 people and the taking of babies, women, and elderly Holocaust survivors as hostages. Full stop. Israelis deserve to live without the threat of terrorism. There shouldn’t be a different standard for Israel than for every other country when it comes to self-defense. Demand the return of the hostages.
• Masorti Solidarity Shabbat — Update and Thank You! – The Rabbinical Assembly and USCJ launch a weekend of events around Solidarity Shabbat of the Conservative/Masorti movement with unwavering solidarity with our family and friends in Israel.
• Urge the UN and Congress – Advocate – How to Help the Hostages 

Tefillah 

• Prayer for Israel by Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
• A Prayer for Israel in this Time of War by Rabbi Naomi Levy
• A Prayer for the Shmini Atzeret War from The Rabbinical Assembly and Masorti Olami
• A Prayer for the Shmini Atzeret War en español from The Rabbinical Assembly and Masorti Olami
• A Prayer for the Shmini Atzeret War en français from The Rabbinical Assembly and Masorti Olami
• Koren Prayer for Israel
• Koren Prayer for IDF
• Koren Prayer for Missing/Captured Individuals
• Acheinu Lyrics
• Vigil Program Script from Rabbi Aderet Drucker, The Den Collective
• Poems for Jerusalem
• Prayer by Rabbi David Wolpe
• Prayer for Israel at War by Rabbi Michael Knopf
• Prayer for Safe Return of Kidnapped Israelis
• Prayer for the Current War by Rabbi Gil Nativ
• Prayer in Time of War in Israel refashioned by Reuven Kimelman
• A Statement from Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal from the Masorti Global Prayer Gathering
• Hillel International Script for Prayer Vigil
• Psalms and Prayers for Israel compiled by ExploringJudaism.org
• Prayers & Tefillah Resources from ExploringJudaism.org
• D’var Torah from Masorti Israel’s David Arias, a reservist called to IDF duty last week
• Songs for Israel, playlist curated by Rabbi Rebecca Schatz, Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, CA 
• Poem by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Dean, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, “One Dove’s Pluck” 
• Prayer by Rabbi Pollack – Masorti Congregation Kehilat Sinai in Tel Aviv
• Prayer for Israel by Rabbi Moshe Smolkin,Adath Israel Congregation (Lexington, KY)
• The Michael Levin Base for Lone Soldiers and Lone National Service Volunteers
• Worldwide Kabbalat Shabbat- USCJ prayer booklet
• Masorti Solidarity Shabbat Resources

Congressional Call Center

Thank you for participating in last week’s National Mobilization week. The effort was hugely successful with tens of thousands of calls made into Congress, and we cannot stop now. With Congress deliberating over an unprecedented aid package, we must continue urging members to support the Jewish state. Please visit https://www.callforisrael.org/COP to make your calls today.

Other

• Daily: JNF-USA live briefings (Zoom)

• • 12pm ET daily
  • Access Zoom here every day.
• 12/17 – A Conversation with Nova Festival Survivor Shye Klein Weinstein
  • Time and Date: 12/17/23 @ 2:30pm ET
  • Hosted by B’nai B’rith International
  • Description: “Shye Klein Weinstein is a 26-year-old photographer from Canada who made Aliyah in June of 2023. On October 7, he would find himself at the heart of the Nova music festival, narrowly escaping a horrific massacre alongside his cousin and a group of close friends. Join us live via webinar as Shye shares his story with B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin.”
  • Register here.
• 12/19 – The War’s Impact on Women in Israel: Responding to Emergency Needs & Speaking Up on Gender-Based Violence (Zoom)
  • Time and Date: 12/19/23 @1-2 pm ET
  • Hosted by Hadassah Foundation and co-cosponsored by Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America
  • Description: “Please join us and our partners for a virtual program on the immediate needs of women and girls in Israel and the ways organizations and communities are working together to provide emergency support. We will also be updated on the newly created Civil Commission of Oct. 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children.”
  • Register here.
• See Israel Bonds’ website for a calendar of their local events.
• Reflections on the current situation in Israel from Rabbi Chaya Rowen Baker, Dean of the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary
• Makom B’Yachad recording of October 31, 2023, guest speaker, Rabbi Beth Naditch, ACPE Certified Educator, Board Certified Chaplain 
• Makom B’Yachad recording of October 27, 2023, a Memorial Service for the Children Murdered in the Recent Hamas Attack in Israel
• Action Alerts
  • Please see this regularly updated document for action alerts from our member organizations. New additions since the last resource email are highlighted
• Resources
  • Please see this regularly updated document for resources from our member organizations. New additions since the last resource email are highlighted.