Post October 7
JUF has been providing ongoing human services throughout Israel’s history—so our partners were ready to spring into action following the October 7 Hamas terror attacks. Within hours we advanced millions to our partners who provide emergency assistance on the ground.
Fueled by the generosity of the community, $60+ million has been raised through JUF’s Israel Emergency Fund since October 2023. Grants were allocated for trauma relief and emotional support, support for victims of terror and their families, employment and economic resilience, housing, food, and physical needs, emergency medical and first responders, multi-faceted support for residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz and more.
Photo credit: Jewish Agency for Israel
Enosh
Enosh — The Israeli Mental Health Association works to address diverse mental health needs: prevention, early short-term intervention, and long-term support, for individuals and their families who are dealing with psychiatric conditions.
The Crisis Intervention Centers are regional clinics for children, teenagers and young adults aged 10–25. The centers specialize in trauma treatment, loss, and bereavement and provide tailored and specialized services led by experts in trauma treatment, including educational psychologists and therapists with postgraduate training in trauma-related fields.
The centers were set up after Oct. 7 as a response to a growing need among young adults and children. The Eitan Crisis Center in Ashdod was established with a JUF emergency grant and was the first of its kind, providing immediate emotional and mental solutions. Following the Eitan Center’s success, more centers throughout the county are being established to help as many children and young adults as possible.
Rehabilitation for Kibbutz Nir Oz
Of the 400 residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz, a quarter were lost on Oct. 7 with 38 people butchered in their homes and 72 taken hostage. A third of all the hostages taken into Gaza that day came from Nir Oz.
When over 80% of the residents of Nir Oz relocated to Kiryat Gat, JUF decided to create a partnership in support of the community as it rehabilitates and rebuilds itself over the next several years.
Support includes a grant for the Kedma student village, which is embedded within the Kibbutz, including 15 university students who moved to Kiryat Gat together and volunteered to assist in rehabilitation, informal education and summer programs for the community’s children and youth, economic development of the Nir Ma’on Dairy Farm and more.
Fresh Start
Fresh Start specializes in the economic recovery of families and small businesses facing crises. The organization has developed innovative economic recovery plans that address both immediate challenges and the long-term economic difficulties of the entire family unit, preventing a return to economic distress.
Fresh Start’s Integrative Economic Reconstruction for Small Businesses program was created to help businesses recover from the impact of the war. Many households and small business owners who were financially stable before the war are now facing debt and hundreds of thousands of people, evacuees, soldiers who were recruited to military service and people affected directly by terror, have lost their source of income.
Fresh Start initiated a unique program, funded by JUF emergency grant, to assist small business owners who were severely damaged by the war. The program has helped so far over 100 small businesses to get back on their feet and get their business running. Providing an overall framework for legal and financial support, redirecting business activity in consideration of the new circumstances created by the war, and producing immediate income to support the households and avoid unnecessary debt and bankruptcy.
