2006 Israel Emergency Fund
Allocations to Date

The Reform Movement, standing in solidarity and support with Israel at this time of need, created the 2006 Israel Emergency Fund. Allocations are being made in consultation with our partners, the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism and the World Union for Progressive Judaism and ARZA for general relief and to help Reform institutions in Israel that are sheltering and providing care for those displaced during the current crisis.

Thanks to the generosity of thousands of Reform Jews across North America, the 2006 Israel Emergency Relief Fund has grown to more than $1.2 million. As of September 12, the following allocations have been made:

Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) - $168,500
The IMPJ, which is the Israeli equivalent of the Union for Reform Judaism, is coordinating the efforts of the Reform community, including assisting those who were relocated from the North as well as ongoing recovery efforts. Initial grants allowed the IMPJ to provide housing for refuges from the North of Israel and to provide transportation and care packages. An additional $100,000 has been allocated to provide mental health professionals and community counseling and to hire part-time social workers in the seven Reform congregations in the north to help adults and children cope with the stress of war.

Israeli Religious Action Center - $155,000
The IRAC's Legal Aid Centers for Olim in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Be'er Sheva help new immigrants resolve the many difficult legal problems that confront them in their new homeland. As a result of the war, large numbers of immigrants, particularly in Haifa, are in distress and need assistance. Funds will be used to provide additional staffing in Haifa and Tel Aviv. 

Scholarships - $100,000
The IMPJ will administer a scholarship fund for children in the North to provide preschool tuition, fees for youth programs, and stipends for children to participate in the summer camp of Noar Telem, the IMPJ youth movement.

Emet VeShalom,  Nahariya - $30,000
Maalot Tivon, Kiryat Tivon –  $30,000
Kehillat Yedid Nefesh - Carmiel - $30,000
These three congregations have been meeting in bomb shelters made available to them by the local municipalities. These shelters must be renovated and the congregations will not be able to use them for their worship, youth programming and life cycle events. Funds are provided to rent space for the next 12 months

Congregational Support -$25,000 
Many Reform Movement congregations have cared for families from the North, provided programming for children and provided regular support to Israelis remaining in northern communities. These funds were used to reimburse significant congregational expenses and will be allocated through the IMPJ

Leo Baeck Educational Center - $50,000
The Leo Baeck Education Center, the largest Reform institution in Israel, was at the front lines of this current conflict. The Haifa Municipality requested that the Leo Baeck Education Center convert its lower floor to a safe indoor play area for children. Funds helped to pay for the cost of the equipiment. In addition, grant funds will enable the Center, which employs more than 500 people and provides vital social services to more than 250 people daily, to continue providing services for the elderly, educational assistance to low income families.  

NETZER - $20,000
NETZER (the organization of international Reform Jewish youth) sustained significant losses during the war as they moved participants in the Shnat leadership program in Netanya and paid to house them in safe locations. The NETZER annual festival for Israel and foreign youth was also affected by the war.  

Kibbutz Yahel - $10,000
Yahel opened its doors at the beginning of this conflict and have remained open ever since. Hosting another group of almost 100 low income Northern refuges, some of whom were members of the Southern Lebanese Army, has increased the financial burden on Yahel. This grant provides services to those who would have been stuck in shelters in the North if it was not for Yahel’s hospitality. 

United Jewish Communities/Jewish Agency for Israel - $10,000
Working with the Jewish Agency for Israel, the United Jewish Communities is providing funds to to enable Israeli children in the North be sent to and cared for at youth villages in the central region of Israel.

Magen David Adom - $10,000
Magen David Adom provides emergency medical treatment to those wounded by terrorist bombings. Funds will be used to help ensure immediate and swift response during this crisis.

Kehillat Yozma - $5,000
This congregation is housing people and bringing van loads of supplies to people in the north. The funds will be used for the supplies and van rental for their next trip North after this Shabbat.

Kibbutz Yahel - $5,000
With cots filling the library and classrooms, Kibbutz Yahel hosted some 110 families, well over 250 people. The beautiful desert Reform Kibbutz opened its doors to those displaced from northern communities. Providing two meals a day at no coast to the displaced Israeli families, facilitating daycare for more than 60 children and making available electricity, water, counseling and medical care has created a burden on this tight knit community. The individuals were housed with families on the kibbutz, as well as in two make-shift dormitories. Many of the households in Yahel have opened their doors to complete strangers. Twenty-five people from Kibbutz Aylon and Carmiel sleep on the floor of the library and others continue to come to Yahel for its hospitable and safe environment.