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For U.S. Jewish groups, crisis means less in donations, more needy By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz U.S. Correspondent Tags: Israel News, Financial crisis  As the U.S. economic crisis mounts, American Jewish organizations face both a growing need for their services at home and declining contributions. The result is likely to be a sharp drop in donations to overseas projects, including in Israel. The New York Jewish Federation has already announced that in order to service the ballooning needs of its own community, it will dip into its reserves - a last resort for emergencies. The last time it utilized its reserves was to help residents of northern Israel during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. "This is a completely new situation for us," said Susie Gelman, chairwoman of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. "My 88-year-old father remembers what happened during the 1930s, but I've never in my life experienced such a crisis." Advertisement She continued, "We're not forgetting Israel, certainly not. But we have a new situation now, and we also need to take care of ourselves, and our means are not unlimited." Moreover, Gelman said, it is hard even to plan, because the extent of the crisis is still unclear. "What we do know is that people can't at the moment contribute the same amount they donated last year. But how much less it will be depends on the depth of the crisis." William Daroff, director of the Washington office of the United Jewish Communities, said that Jewish organizations are suffering a triple blow: Fewer individuals are able to donate, foundations have been hammered by the collapse of Wall Street, and the number of people in need of social services is rising. Nevertheless, he said, "What is certain is that we aren't going to draw up a list of priorities. We'll try to find a way to continue providing aid to needy Jews both here, in the Commonwealth of Independent States, and in Israel." Rabbi Jerome Epstein, executive vice president of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, believes that what is necessary is to persuade those who can still give to increase their commitments. People are still donating to the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain, he noted, because "the matter is important to them, it excites them." Jewish organizations need to find a way to generate that same sense of urgency. For instance, he said, during a Yom Kippur sermon on the need to support Israel, he did not talk in generalities; he spoke specifically about the need to help the hungry and new immigrants - and that generated a response. "There are people who haven't been hurt" by the crisis, Epstein explained. "The challenge is to reach them.... Those who haven't been hurt must understand that their responsibility is now greater." But if Epstein found that people can still be moved by stories of hungry Jews in Israel, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder of the Israel Project, is discovering that raising money merely for pro-Israel public relations is much harder. Her organization's current focus is trying to raise awareness of the Iranian nuclear threat, and this year, it had hoped to expand its campaign to other languages, including Russian, French and Arabic. Instead, it is being forced to cut back. "Jews are still worried about Israel and Iran, but people also have real problems," she said. "Fortunately, most of our donors are devoted to our goal, but even the most loyal donors can't donate money they don't have. We have donors who are losing their businesses.... We have donors who are going bankrupt." And what about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Floating on a sea of petrodollars, he is smiling all the way to the bank," said Laszlo Mizrahi. Related articles: Finance Minister: No Israel banks will collapse in global crisis Mideast Muslims: U.S. financial crisis is divine punishment European markets plunge again, despite central banks efforts Bookmark to del.icio.us   One step closer Labor Party, Kadima sign coalition agreement after 18 hours of discussion. After the clashes Police arrest driver who sparked Acre riots for 'harming religious sensitivities'.   1.   "Ahmadinejad floating on a sea of petrodollars." 05:41  |  Maureen Ann 12/10/08   2.   A historical mistake 12:10  |  James Rassouk 12/10/08   3.   If at the top Israel citizens see corruption 17:40  |  Get this real messag 12/10/08   4.   Israel should prepare for a situation, where 19:49  |  Kris Lazar 12/10/08   5.   no moral for beggers 00:28  |  wh 13/10/08

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