War in Israel: Resources Update
Educate:
- During this moment of crisis, many Jewish Federations have the opportunity to tell Israel’s story and the story of their own Jewish community in the media. The media can be an incredible tool for you to deliver your message, but talking to the media can be scary, especially on politically charged subjects. Join Jewish Federations on October 30, at 12 pm for a basic introduction on how to prepare for and navigate interviews with the press, tackle tough questions, and make sure your message gets through. This webinar is open to all Federation professionals and board members but is specifically recommended to CEOs/Presidents, Board Chairs, and Marketing/Comms professionals. Register here.
- Getting Grounded: A mini-course on the basics about Israel for Federation Professionals: Join Rabbi Mike Uram, Chief Jewish Learning Officer every Tuesday from October 24 – November 21 from 3:00 – 4:00 pm ET (except for Nov 7), to unpack Israel’s history through a lens of complexity and gain a better understanding of the key features of Israel and Zionism. This course aims to help you feel more grounded and confident both personally and professionally when it comes to understanding Israel today and the politics as they show up in North American Jewish life. No prior knowledge is needed, and we will create a space that encourages questions of all kinds that is welcoming and inclusive to all. Feel free to register for select sessions or attend all. To learn more and register, please click here.
Advocate:
- Last week, the Biden Administration sent Congress its supplemental funding request, which contains key priorities for the Jewish community, including emergency aid for Israel, domestic security funding, and continued aid to Ukraine. Click here to urge your members of Congress to support this critical aid package.
- As Israeli Jews of Color grieve alongside their brothers and sisters following the deadly Hamas terror attacks on October 7th, American Jews of Color worry about their safety in the U.S. Jews of Color can click here to take action to urge their members of Congress to support the supplemental budget request, which provides emergency security assistance to Israel and American Jewish community institutions.
Donate:
- In addition to the extraordinary local allocations made in recent days, the Jewish Federations of North America allocations committee approved an additional $21.6 million in our Israel Emergency Campaign, bring our system’s total allocation to $111 million. Click here for details.
- The Jewish Federations’ Israel Emergency Campaign allocations process combines a dynamic, holistic, and comprehensive needs assessment procedure with vetting and governance steps. Click here for an overview of the process.
Resources:
- The Community Mobilization Center is monitoring major developments in Israel and North America related to Israel’s war to defend herself against Hamas, and will rapidly disseminate resources to help mobilize and support our local communities as they work to build and sustain civic and political support for Israel in this conflict. Read the latest communication from the Community Mobilization Center here.
- The resource toolkit for the response to the war in Israel continues to be updated regularly. Find it here: jfeds.org/
swordsofirontoolkit - #BlueRibbonsforIsrael: We are beyond inspired by the amount of interest and partnership we are seeing in this effort from Federations and other organizations. The website now features photos and names of the hostages. Learn more and take part at BlueRibbonsforIsrael.org
- Follow Jewish Federations on Instagram: Our Instagram is live and growing and we encourage you to follow us, like, and share our recent posts, reels, and stories.
We will continue to update these resources as we get more information and the situation continues to develop on the ground. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.